Manchester United are expected to secure an agreement for the permanent signing of Carlos Tévez in the next few weeks. David Gill, the United chief executive, met Kia Joorabchian, the Argentina striker's representative, last week and they hope to conclude a deal before the European champions fly to Japan for the Club World Cup in the middle of next month.

Tévez, 24, has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford since the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur on September 1, but Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, is adamant that the Argentinian remains an integral part of his plans and has made it clear to Gill that he wants the player's services secured in the long term.

The news yesterday that Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Real Madrid striker, has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury is likely to have provided extra incentive for United to tie up the deal, with the Spanish champions reported to be interested in signing Tévez. United paid between £6 million and £10 million to sign him on a two-year loan deal, which expires next summer, and those costs are expected to be included in the final fee, which could total as much as £30 million.

That would leave United with about £20 million left to pay to Joorabchian, who owns the economic rights to the player, although the ramifications of Tévez's spell with West Ham United and the issues surrounding third-party ownership are still being debated in the courts.

An independent tribunal ruled in September that Tévez was not eligible to play for West Ham during the 2006-07 season, when they narrowly avoided relegation at the expense of Sheffield United. The Yorkshire club have applied to the High Court for an injunction to prevent West Ham from appealing against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The tribunal's verdict has left West Ham liable for damages of up to £30 million.

Diego Maradona, the new coach of Argentina, was quoted yesterday as saying that Tévez was worried about his lack of first-team opportunities at Old Trafford - he has started only four of United's past 13 matches - although Ferguson sat down with the player three weeks ago to “stress to him that our faith in him is absolute”.

That is expected to be borne out by the fact that Ferguson is willing to make Tévez the latest costly addition to an attack that has already set the club back £70 million and could now top the £100 million mark, though such is the complex nature of the deal that it may not be ratified until the transfer window opens in January.

Having been beaten 2-1 by Arsenal last weekend, United can ill-afford to lose further ground on the Barclays Premier League leaders when they play at home to Stoke City tomorrow, but Darren Fletcher, the midfield player, believes the title race will go to the wire. “There will be lots of twists and turns,” Fletcher said. “The league went down to the final day of last season and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same again.”