MANCHESTER: Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez will stay with the Premier League champions beyond his current loan deal, according to manager Alex Ferguson.

Tevez, 23, is currently on a two-year loan at Old Trafford but Ferguson has already set the wheels in motion to ensure the Argentina international remains at the club.

He has made a good start to his first season with United, scoring five times and forming an impressive partnership with Wayne Rooney.

Ferguson has no intention of letting the former West Ham player leave and the United manager admitted a permanent transfer has been lined up.

“There is no question about his long-term future here. (United chief executive) David Gill has spoken to his agent and told him we are very happy with him,” Ferguson said.

“The fee is in place. I won't tell you what it is but it is still cheap. I want to make his happen. He has impressed everyone with his appetite for the game.

“He'll get me 15 goals this season and what's more they will be important goals.”

Meanwhile, Ferguson faces an appointment with the English Football Association after being sent to the stands during his team’s fiery 1-0 defeat to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

The Manchester United manager watched the second half of his team’s first league defeat in over three months from the directors’ box after an angry exchange with referee Mark Clattenburg in the tunnel at half-time.

“It was a feisty game. They set an aggressive tone and we were looking for protection from the referee but didn’t get it. It became a shambles, the first half, there was foul after foul after foul.

“(Bolton) battled for their lives, that’s part of their game and you expect that but we should have had more protection from the referee and we didn’t get it. It was a battle.”

The dismissal will require Ferguson to appear before an FA disciplinary hearing and could result in him being banned from the touchline, although his biggest concern on Saturday was seeing Nicolas Anelka’s goal defeat his team and cost them three points in the bid to keep pace with Arsenal at the top of the table.

Ferguson was honest enough to admit his team did not deserve to win the fiery game, after failing to create enough meaningful chances, and the veteran manager was anxious to look ahead, rather than back.

“It’s another day in the history of Manchester United,” he said. “From time to time we have to take defeats, it’s part of the game, and we have to bounce back. We have the players of quality and determination to do that.” – AFP

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