Carrick wants Tevez to stay

Michael Carrick is crossing his fingers a successful resolution can be reached in Carlos Tevez's contract impasse.

Minutes after Sir Alex Ferguson claimed an offer had been put in front of the Manchester United striker to keep him at Old Trafford, Tevez's advisor Kia Joorabchian insisted there had not, adding that United had not exercised their option to keep the player, with further hints Tevez's heart was no longer with the Red Devils.

Carrick said: "Obviously Carlos is a top player and the fans love him as well. We want to keep the squad together as much as we can."

He added: "It is great here and we still haven't peaked so it would be nice to keep together."

Goals against both Manchester City and Wigan have given Tevez the perfect opportunity to emphasise his desire to remain at Old Trafford.

There might have been no ear-cupping at the JJB Stadium as there had been at Old Trafford but the way Tevez was buried under a mass of United bodies when his impudent back-heel hit the net proved how popular he is in the dressing room, while the now familiar chants of "Fergie, sign him up" from the visiting fans confirmed his status on the terraces.

"It is not so much the number of goals but the importance of them," said Carrick on Thursday.

"His goal last night was a classic case of that. He came on, scored and got us back in the game.

"Hopefully he can score a few more over the next couple of weeks."