Soccer:Carlos Tevez anticipates an evening of pleasure rather than pressure when he makes his debut for Manchester United at Portsmouth tomorrow.

The Argentinian international finally arrived at Old Trafford on Friday after completing his eye-wateringly complicated move from West Ham and yesterday he was paraded in front of a packed media gathering at Carrington, the club's training ground.

It was the sort of occasion that can turn usually confident players tongue-tied but, leaning back in his chair and sharing little jokes with his interpreter, Tevez, dressed casually in baggy jeans and loose sweatshirt, looked supremely comfortable.

Inevitable inquiries about the potential stress of playing for Manchester United were greeted by what will doubtless soon become a familiar toothy grin.

"I have never felt pressure when I play football," explained the 23-year-old, who was largely responsible for West Ham's unlikely avoidance of relegation last season while also introducing football fans to the complexities of third-party player ownership agreements. "Whenever I go on to the pitch I try to enjoy myself."

Tevez certainly seemed to serve as a lightning conductor at Upton Park, deflecting tension from his fellow players as he revelled in scoring the goals that kept them in the Premier League.

"There's no doubt Carlos was the major reason why West Ham stayed up," said Alex Ferguson. "He was brilliant against us in the season's final game when he scored their winner.

"Although we've been watching him for a long time, his performances in the Premier League are the foundation on which our opinion of Carlos is based. But sometimes you get more of a feel of a player from training and he's been absolutely brilliant in our sessions."

Such form dictates that, though Tevez has not played a single friendly in the four weeks since helping Argentina reach the final of the Copa America, Ferguson has no reservations about asking him to replace the injured Wayne Rooney tomorrow.

"Carlos will start on Wednesday," he confirmed. "I would have preferred to wait for the Manchester City game on Sunday, which would have given him a few more days training but, for the forthcoming few weeks, he will fill the position Wayne would have occupied."

Asked if he was simply too similar to Rooney for the pair to complement each other, Tevez replied, "The best players should play with each other; great players need to play next to each other. It's a big blow to lose Wayne now; he's a great player and will be difficult to replace. It hurt to leave West Ham; it was difficult, but joining Manchester United is a great opportunity. I am very happy here; it's remarkable to be with a group of people who are football stars but are also humble as human beings."

The move completed a tortuous period of negotiations involving West Ham, his agent, Kia Joorabchian, who also claimed to own the player's registration, and United. After the wrangling Joorabchian handed West Ham a €3-million settlement and it is understood United will pay him €14.8 million for Tevez's two-year loan at Old Trafford. The ultimate intention is to make the transfer permanent and United are free to buy Tevez at any time during, or immediately after, that 24-month period. Moreover he cannot leave Old Trafford without Ferguson waiving his right to purchase.

At the Copa America Tevez remained in largely blissful ignorance of the furore. "I only realised how difficult it all was at the end," he admitted. "But I never thought I'd be forced out of the game." By 10pm tomorrow the Portsmouth manager, Harry Redknapp, and his team might wish he had been.