The 23-year-old star, nicknamed "Apache", is set to become the fifth footballer from the land of Latin flair to pull on a red shirt when he makes his United debut at Portsmouth.
He follows in the footsteps of Diego Forlan, Juan Sebastian Veron, Kleberson and Gabriel Heinze, the first three of whom left barely a ripple at Old Trafford, while Heinze is in danger of leaving a bad smell after a heroic start to his career.
But Ferguson believes that the year which Tevez spent at West Ham, in which he almost single-handedly kept the London club in the Premier League, has given him all the evidence he needed that this will not be another expensive mistake.
The Reds boss said: "It's judgement, of course. Over the years most of our signings have been successful, so I think our judgement is good.
"There has also been good evidence on which to judge Carlos. His profile with Argentina is good, and we started watching him when he was 18 years of age.
"Then he played for the Olympic team when he was 20 and we watched him progress from there to national level.
"But without question it was his performances last year in the Premier League were the foundation on which this transfer was based.
"There are no doubts in my mind that his performances and contribution to West Ham last season saved them from relegation.
"I watched most of the run-in and winning seven of your last nine games is championship form. The platform was there for him to use and he used it fantastically well, showing what a truly world-class player he is."
Ability
The last world-class Argentinian star to sign for United was Veron, who cost the club a then record £28m when he joined from Lazio in 2001. He showed glimpses of his incredible ability but did not settle and left the club for a little over half that fee just two years later.
Uruguay's Diego Forlan also left his mark, by scoring the two goals that sank Liverpool at Anfield in 2003, but he also could not nail down a place and has gone on to be one of the top strikers in the Spanish league.
The worst of the bunch was Kleberson, who struggled to make any kind of impact and was banished to Turkish club Besiktas in 2005.
Ironically, it was Heinze, who plays alongside Tevez for Argentina, who helped to sell United's "family atmosphere" to his countryman - and now he seems set to leave Old Trafford after threatening legal action to try to force through a move to Liverpool.
Ferguson's chase for Tevez was completed on Friday, but the manager insists that the player's great solo display in the last game of last season was not a clincher.
United had been interested when his services were offered by MSI-JSI last summer, but had been wary when they saw the small print which finally landed West Ham a £5m fine.
"When he played against us in the last league match of last season, I didn't know what his contract situation was - I don't think anyone knew the implications," said Ferguson.
"But we have been watching Carlos for a long time and when a deal became possible last summer it was way too complex.
"With Javier Mascherano going to Liverpool towards the end of last season it clarified the situation for us and in a way helped us to decide to go for Carlos."
The manager eventually hopes to team Tevez with Rooney, who is out likely to be out until October with a hairline metatarsal fracture.
Ferguson expects the arrival of Tevez to bring United's summer spree to an end, saying: "We have good tempo in attack and their readiness will compensate for Wayne's loss."
Do you think Tevez will compensate for the loss of Rooney? Have your say.
Tweet
Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Gilly, Belgium (14/08/2007 at 09:48)
Tevez is his own player
Cmon united we need a win !!!
Carlito do it mate!!
gilly
Demo, Glossop (14/08/2007 at 09:48)
i dont believe he will be a flop! diego was very unlucky and dont forget we did have rvn at the time as well! when diego got a run out he started scoring goals and look what hes done in spain!
tevez is a completely different type of player to veron and kleb a lot more physical and therefore can cope! just look at the second half of last season with WHU!
Dangermouse 2, Heywood (14/08/2007 at 09:56)
Slow start better finish.
Spike, Ldn (14/08/2007 at 10:05)
Steve, Glossop (14/08/2007 at 10:12)
Birdy, Ireland (14/08/2007 at 10:16)
As for the other South American signings. Being honest they all flopped. Kleberson was a strange one. I dont think he was ever going to be good enough. Forlan needed first team football, and confidence. As he's showed in Spain he is talented, but the pressure at OT seemed too much for him, certainly at that stage of his career
And then to Veron. I couldnt believe we signed him. I was stunned and never as excited about a signing before or since. He was the best player in Seria A but it just didnt happen for him here. I dont think SAF can be blamed for this as any manager of any team in the world would have wanted Veron back then
Red Seven (14/08/2007 at 10:26)
Demo, Glossop (14/08/2007 at 10:51)
Red Lou, Malta (14/08/2007 at 11:04)
chris, oxford (14/08/2007 at 12:04)
As Fergie rightly points out Tevez has had a successful season in the Premier League so hopefully he should be able to go straight into the United team and start performing because otherwise we could be in the mire!
Mick, Dublin (14/08/2007 at 12:42)
TMUF, Manchester (14/08/2007 at 13:04)
manc abroad, OT (14/08/2007 at 13:26)
Mick, Dublin (14/08/2007 at 13:56)
JonyB-), North Staffs (14/08/2007 at 14:17)
Essex Prawn, Billerciay (14/08/2007 at 14:46)
Joast, Faroe Islands (14/08/2007 at 15:09)
I cant stand when SAF is using players in unatural positions, like oshea, giggs in attack, why not give campbell or dong (dont know about him) a chance when so many players are unfit. When will they ever get a chance.
Tevez will be a succes. period.
DC, Amsterdam (14/08/2007 at 15:10)
As for Forlan, rose-tinted spectacles guys! Ok he was a good worker for us, he played with a smile, scored some important goals and he tried really hard, but he was hopeless. I don't think his scoring record in spain is testament to his ability, rather to the room that players receive in the spanish league. Don't get me wrong, whenever he plays I support him, I want him to do well, but he is nowhere near the standard of Cole, Rossi, Hughes, Saha, Ruud, Yorke, Ole, Teddy, Ralph Milne, Peter Davenport, or Garry Birtles.
TS (14/08/2007 at 15:14)
Isn't Evra first choice for France in his position? As pointed out, Evra actually plays left back for his country, unlike Heinze.
Moreover, Fergie gets to see a lot more of his players than a national coach (all the games and all the training sessions), so I'd take his judgement.
Heinze was excellent for a season, but looked an inferior replacement for Evra when he returned from injury.
...
As for the south Americans, I agree with several posters that none of them were bad players. Two of them, arguably couldn't settle due to Roy Keane. Kleberson didn't really have a chance to play in the role he occupied so well for Brazil. Veron thrived on running the midfield at Lazio. He was supposedly uncomfortable with Keane on a personal level, and that didn't help create a good footballing partnership. The shape was also destabilised by having to convert Scholes into a second striker.
Like many strikers, Forlan needed time and confidence to assert himself at a new club and new league. He had to compete with RVN, which made it harder. Nevertheless, he did better than a lot of new forwards have.
Tevez has one advantage over all the others: he has already made a successful transition to the English game. So there are no shocks to come in terms of the pace / aggression, and he can presumably cope with the weather. But above all, he has a determination and energy that was not so obvious in any of the others.
charbel (14/08/2007 at 15:31)
Duncan, London (14/08/2007 at 15:31)
JonyB-), North Staffs (14/08/2007 at 15:54)
Harris ex-crumpsallite now sweden, Sweden (14/08/2007 at 16:10)
george (14/08/2007 at 16:26)
RANDYRED (14/08/2007 at 16:51)