Rooney: Keeping Tevez Is Crucial

Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney has urged the club to pull out all the stops to seal a permanent deal for Carlos Tevez.

The 24-year-old Argentine, who is still officially only on loan at the club, fit in seamlessly in his first season at Old Trafford, having formed a formidable understanding with Rooney and Ronaldo, which only promises to get better.

"It is crucial to get him signed and I am sure that will happen," said Rooney.

"Carlos loves playing football here, he's enjoying it so I don't see why it will be a problem.

"We saw him at West Ham what a great player he was and how hard he works for the team," he added.

"I had no doubts that we could play together and from training with him when he first came you could immediately see the qualities he had. I couldn't wait to play with him.

"Towards the end of the season we didn't play together a lot, but when we did, we did really well.

"He's been brilliant. He's a battler, he works so hard and has scored 19 goals, which is brilliant."

Tevez is currently on loan from Media Sports Investments, a controversial situation that is usually forbidden due to the Premier League's strict stance against third-party deals. Although the loan is technically just halfway through now, both he and the club are more than keen to extend his stay far beyond the two years initially agreed.