Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he does not have a fall-back position should his £30million bid to sign Carlos Tevez eventually fail.

Ferguson's efforts to lure Tevez to Manchester United have ground to a halt amid a deluge of legal arguments over who owns the player's registration.

The Argentina striker's advisor Kia Joorabchian last week accused West Ham of saying one thing in private and another in public in their stance on the Tevez ownership issue, something the Upton Park club strenously deny.

With the Premier League sticking to their position that West Ham own the player after they tore up the third-party agreement with Joorabchian which landed them in so much trouble, the Tevez camp have now asked for world governing body FIFA to step in and settle the matter.

United remain totally convinced FIFA will eventually rule in Joorabchian's favour, an outcome which would cause the Premier League huge embarrassment.

However, the Old Trafford club also know there is a chance the verdict would go the other way, effectively blocking their bid to sign Tevez before the August 31 transfer deadline.

Such a decision would leave Ferguson having to decide whether to keep Alan Smith and Giuseppe Rossi at United or enter the transfer market again.

The Red Devils chief said last week he had already seen a bid for an un-named forward rejected earlier in the summer. And he currently does not have an alternative should the Tevez move break down.

"I am confident Carlos Tevez will sign and I am happy to wait until clearance comes along," he said.

"If it become obvious the situation wasn't going to turn our way we would have to reconsider our plans. But I have nothing as a fall-back position at this moment in time."

There has been a suggestion from FIFA that, as yet, no paperwork has been received from any source with regard to the Tevez affair.

With the time factor so important given United would have to wait until January to sign Tevez should a deal not be pushed through by the end of next month, that is something of a surprise, especially as club lawyer Maurice Watkins remained in Manchester rather than embarking on the club's present Far East tour in order to try to resolve the matter.

However, chief executive David Gill moved quickly to calm fears nothing was being done.

"It is a complicated matter being worked on by all the parties involved and we hope for a positive resolution in the course of the next few weeks," he said.

"We are in discussions with the FA and FIFA on the matter. It is moving to the appropriate body."

Meanwhile, Ferguson confirmed China international Dong Fangzhou would link up with the United squad on Sunday following his country's surprise elimination from the Asia Cup.

Although Dong will not play in United's remaining two games on tour, Ferguson feels the experience of being around senior first-team players for the next seven days is bound to help the youngster's development.

"Dong is a good, young player and we have big hopes for him," said the Scot.

"He will join us on Sunday but he won't play because he has been committed to China for the last three weeks and he needs some rest."

Owen Hargreaves may miss Monday's match against FC Shenzhen too as the England international is still troubled by a knee injury.

Had the current round of matches been competitive, rather than friendlies, the former Bayern Munich midfielder would almost certainly have played.

But, with the Premier League champions due to begin the defence of their title against Reading on August 12, Ferguson is refusing to take any chances.

"We have not decided whether Owen Hargreaves will play in the next two games," he said. "It depends on how his injury comes along.

"We will be careful and patient with him and he won't be risked. We want to make sure when he does play, he is fit."

Hargreaves' fellow new arrival Nani will play some part though, a fitting introduction to life at United given Macau was a Portuguese colony until 1999.

(re-opens) It was later confirmed that a Monday meeting had been arranged between FIFA and legal representatives of the Football Association to discuss the Tevez affair.

FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren told PA Sport: "A meeting will take place on Monday. My understanding is that it will be with members of the FA, not the Premier League. It could be that someone from the Premier League comes along as well.

"My understanding is that a senior lawyer from the FA will come to Zurich to meet our senior legal people."

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