By James Munro
BBC sports news correspondent |
One of the most protracted and complicated moves in English football is set to be resolved with Carlos Tevez poised to switch from West Ham to Manchester United. The matter was set to go to the High Court on 22 August but talks between West Ham and the Tevez camp are set to have avoided any such scenario.
After months of complex negotiations, the matter seems to be ending - and this is why the deal has became one of football's most drawn-out sagas.
WHY IS THE TEVEZ DEAL SO COMPLICATED? It's because Media Sports Investment (MSI) and Just Sports Inc., which owns the player's economic rights, and West Ham, which holds the player's registration, fell out over how much compensation the club would need to release him.
And the Premier League needed to be satisfied that the sum would be enough to prove that it was West Ham, and not a third party, which owned the player's registration.
Around ?2m appears to have satisfied all three parties.
WHY A LOAN MOVE TO MAN UTD AND NOT A PERMANENT DEAL? A similar deal was struck with Liverpool when his Argentine team-mate, Javier Mascherano, moved from West Ham.
It's a complicated formula designed to ensure that the club and MSI don't break the Premier League's rules on third party agreements.
But part of the loan deal would be the offer of a permanent transfer, perhaps in 2009.
HOW MUCH DO WE EXPECT MAN UTD TO PAY? No figures have been made public, but Tevez would be expected to earn more than ?4m a year.
Any permanent deal could see Manchester United pay around ?25m.
WHO IS GETTING THE MONEY FOR THE DEAL? MSI's representative Kia Joorabchian has negotiated the deal with Manchester United which should be concluded this weekend.
The company can expect a one-off payment of more than ?5m. West Ham will get around ?2m in compensation. MSI would also benefit from any permanent transfer deal.
DOES THE OUTCOME CONTRADICT WEST HAM SAYING THEY HAD TORN UP THE THIRD PARTY AGREEMENT WITH THE TEVEZ CAMP? In normal circumstances, the selling club would earn the transfer fee but this is no ordinary contract.
West Ham insist that the deal proves that it was the club's decision to release Tevez - and part of their compromise deal with MSI is that all legal action is off.
The Premier League would only have accepted the deal if their lawyers were sure that it proved beyond doubt that it was West Ham's decision to release Tevez from his contract, and not MSI's.
They've got an eye on the threat of legal action by Sheffield United.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SHEFFIELD UNITED? If West Ham had have been docked points rather than fined at the initial hearing into the transfers of Tevez and Javier Mascherano it is almost certain Sheffield United would have stayed up at the expense of the Upton Park side. Hence their interest.
The club says it will study the deal closely before deciding upon its next course of action.
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