Three days into his Manchester United career, Carlos Tévez said yesterday that he would happily lay down roots at Old Trafford and while the club’s hierarchy may prefer breathing space after the saga of his transfer from West Ham United, there can be little doubt that the Argentina forward has an opportunity to establish himself immediately after the loss of Wayne Rooney to injury.

With the England striker ruled out for at least seven weeks with a hairline fracture of his left foot, Tévez will be thrust into United’s starting line-up for the Barclays Premier League match away to Portsmouth tomorrow evening. It is not the gradual introduction that Sir Alex Ferguson had in mind, but, as he was finally paraded at United’s training ground yesterday, Tévez appeared to be warming to the idea of filling Rooney’s boots.

“I have never felt pressure when I play football,” Tévez said when asked whether he felt daunted by the prospect of standing in for Rooney. “Whenever I go on to the pitch I try to enjoy myself. All I can do is prepare myself and to try to adapt as quickly as possible. It is a big blow to lose Wayne — he is a great player and he will be very difficult to replace — but at a big club like Manchester United, you hope to have a number of players who can slot in. I will do everything I can to help Manchester United be successful.”

Ferguson smiled upon hearing such sentiments, having bought a player whom he feels can handle the pressure of playing for such a big club. United’s previous experiences with South American imports have been largely disappointing; Juan Sebastián Verón, Diego Forlán and Kléberson were sold at substantial losses, while Gabriel Heinze, after an encouraging start, lost his place and is pushing for a move to Liverpool. But Ferguson believes that Tévez’s experience of English football with West Ham last season means that this is a different case.

It was the 23-year-old’s performances for West Ham in the final months of last season — when he scored seven goals in the final ten league matches, having failed to find the net in the previous 16 — that convinced Ferguson that he was worth the significant amount of time and trouble invested in his signing.

With his economic rights owned by two companies, Media Sports Investment (MSI) and Just Sports Inc (JSI), he had to be released by West Ham — who were compensated with a fee of £2 million — leaving United to lease him on a two-year contract at a cost of £10 million, with the option of buying him from MSI and JSI for a further payment in the region of £15 million at any time before June 30, 2009.

It is a situation that had Ferguson shaking his head in mock confusion and David Gill, the United chief executive, calling for Fifa, world football’s governing body, to clear up the mess that surrounds third-party ownership, but Tévez seems happy to contemplate a long-term future at Old Trafford. “Speak to David Gill,” he said with a smile. “If he offers a contract for five years, I will take it.”

The reality is far less straightforward — with Kia Joorabchian, the player’s representative, calling the shots — but if Tévez can make light of Rooney’s absence in the coming months, that conversation may not be too far away.