MANCHESTER United could end up on the sidelines of a messy courtroom battle over their bid to sign £20m-rated Carlos Tevez.

The Reds are confident of wrapping up a deal for the player over the next fortnight, but the question of who actually owns the 23-year-old Argentinian ace could yet be the subject of a legal tussle.

The economic rights to the player are held by London-based company Media Sports Investment (MSI), but Tevez's registration until 2010 is owned by West Ham as part of the deal which took him to Upton Park from Brazilian club Corinthians. MSI, headed by Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian, are understood to have lined up the move to United which it is hoped will be concluded once Argentina's involvement in the Copa America ends.

There is still some doubt over the carve-up of the transfer fee, with uncertainty over how much MSI and West Ham will get - and any money which goes to MSI could prove that the Hammers were still in breach of Premier League rules when they fielded him in the closing stages of last season.

West Ham were fined £5.5m last season for breaking those rules when they signed Tevez and his fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano.

To escape more severe punishment they had to assure the ruling body that the offending part of the contracts of Tevez and Mascherano - which stated that their contracts were joint owned by MSI - had been removed.

The Hammers did not do that to the satisfaction of other relegation-threatened clubs, but the Premier League was sated enough to allow Tevez's registration to stand.

Agreement

If West Ham allow MSI to receive some or all of the fee, it is tantamount to an acknowledgement that they did NOT terminate their agreement with MSI, and is sure to bring fresh demands for action from Sheffield United, who were relegated after Tevez was allowed to play on and inspired West Ham to escape relegation.

The Blades will take the next stage of their appeal against their relegation to the High Court on July 13.

Tevez himself says he will not sort out his future until after the Copa America but is believed to favour a move to Old Trafford.

"Signing Tevez would be like getting Mark Hughes back - but with more mobility," says Clayton Blackmore, a former colleague of "Sparky" for both club and country.

"Tevez is a fantastic player - he showed that last season when he single-handedly kept West Ham in the Premiership.

"I have heard some Argentinians say he is better than Diego Maradona, but he also works very hard when he doesn't have the ball.

"If you watched him for West Ham towards the end of the season, as soon as they lost the ball he would run back 30 or 40 yards to put pressure on the opposition, which makes things much easier for his defenders and midfielders."

UNITED have been invited to play a fourth friendly on their pre-season tour of Asia against Chinese side Guangzhou Pharmaceutical FC on July 27 at the 80,000-seater Guangdong Olympic Stadium in Guangzhou.

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