ANALYSIS: Former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune believes there is more to come from the Argentine, who has enjoyed his best season in Europe to date

By Brian OliverWhat a transformation in the goalscoring form of Carlos Tevez . Before this season, the Argentine had scored six goals in 21 Champions League games for the two Manchester clubs, and one in 15 in the Europa League for West Ham Manchester United and Juventus When he scored the second of his two goals in a man-of-the-match performance against Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 last month, Tevez equalled that Champions League career total in a single season. It was his sixth goal in eight appearances for Juventus in 2014-15.“It doesn’t surprise me, and I’m sure there will be more to come,” said Quinton Fortune, who left Old Trafford the year before Tevez arrived in 2007. “He is a fantastic player, a special player, and when he’s used the right way, given a free role, he’s so hard to stop.“It just makes it all the more amazing that Argentina didn’t take him to the World Cup. That was shocking.”Why has there been such a change in Tevez’s strike rate? There are two reasons, Fortune believes. One is a change of strike partner, with Alvaro Morata having hit top form after taking the place of the more static Fernando Llorente.Most important, though, is a change in tactics. Under Antonio Conte last season, when Juve went out of the Champions League in the group stages behind Real Madrid and Galatasaray, Tevez was given strict instructions on where to play.This season, Massimiliano Allegri has given him more freedom and Tevez has prospered. Tevez is the top scorer in Serie A with 17 goals – and his Champions League conversion rate of chances to goals (32 per cent) is better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.Tevez, 31, is shooting at goal at the same rate as last season, but this time he has been far more accurate. He is making many more runs with the ball this season, and far more challenges.“You can’t lock a player like Tevez into one position,” Fortune told. “You have to set him free, and the numbers show that that’s what Juventus have done.“He’s here, there and everywhere, charging around – he never gives anyone a rest. And he doesn't always rely on others to create chances - he can do it by himself.“The energy that was there when he was younger is still there. He reminds me of a young Wayne Rooney, but as for nowadays I’m not sure there’s anyone quite like him. He has that low centre of gravity, great strength on the ball, he’s very clever off it, and has strong shooting and positional sense.“He can drop off into midfield, in the hole, and he can’t stop scoring. He’s not a one-position player, or even a two-position player. He needs to be free to roam.“Someone suggested it was a bit like Diego Forlan at United. Such a long spell without a goal, it got him down and people joked about it. But then he started scoring, moved to Atletico Madrid and couldn’t stop. He never looked back.“It’s not quite the same with Tevez, though. There are similarities, in that they both work and train incredibly hard and you just know their talent will take them through in the end, but Tevez didn’t have such a long spell without a goal as Diego.“He didn’t do that badly last season, did he? Juventus won the league and he scored quite a few [21 in all competitions, in 48 appearances]. But this season he’s been special and it’s mainly because he is in a free role.”Fortune is about to start his Uefa A-licence coaching qualifications and loves to see smaller players such as Tevez prosper. “I always tell younger players that it’s not size that matters, it’s skill,” he said.“Tevez is what, 5ft 8in? I love to see players of that size doing well. He’s still incredibly hard to knock off the ball. Football is changing and size is not so important, it’s all about ability.“Tevez is unique, and he’s a great example to younger players.”