West Ham pledge to seek out-of-court Tevez settlement

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) West Ham United will continue to seek an out-of-court settlement with Argentine forward Carlos Tevez's representatives after they started legal proceedings against the London club.

In a statement on their Web site today, the Premier League club said that if they failed to achieve an out-of-court agreement with all parties involved, then they would present a robust case to the High Court on August 22.

Tevez's representative Kia Joorabchian, who claims that he and his companies own the economic rights to Tevez, 23, applied to the High Court after serving a writ on West Ham in a bid to ease his proposed transfer to Manchester United.

West Ham claim they are the true 'owners' of Tevez as they hold his registration as a player after recruiting him in a complex deal last year.

''West Ham United will continue to work on achieving an out-of-court settlement on the issues relating to Carlos Tevez,'' the club said.

''However, if a settlement, to be agreed by all parties, is not possible then the Club will present a very robust legal case to the High Court if the matter comes before the court on August 22nd.'' Tevez's move to the Premier League champions has stalled over the question of who should be paid that fee, estimated by the British media to be worth up to 30 million pounds (61.73 million dollars).

Reuters PDS DB2044