Trying to see where his career goes next is just as difficult.

There is no doubt what Manchester United fans want. They want the man who has scored two potentially title-winning goals in the last week, against Manchester City and Wigan, to stay at Old Trafford.

They watch him sprinting back 60 yards, past the comparative statue which is Dimitar Berbatov, to make crucial tackles.

They see him shedding buckets of sweat for the cause and chant "Fergie, Fergie sign him up".

And United manager Sir Alex Ferguson appears to want him too.

"He has great skill, never gives in and that is a great quality," says Ferguson.

"He has a hunger to fight all the time. It is wonderful to see."

So the fans, the manager and the player, too, if his goal celebrations with hands cupped to his ears as if imploring the Board to listen to the crowd, want Tevez to stay.

And then it gets tricky.

Because Tevez is not owned by a football club. He is owned by a group of investors headed by Kia Joorabchian. An agent, advisor, businessman, who brokered Tevez's loan to United for two seasons.

Joorabchian claims there was an option for United to convert the deal to a permanent signing which was not taken up. He also insists there has been no offer to Tevez from United, despite Ferguson claiming otherwise.

And so the end of a thrilling season, when the focus should be on Ferguson's almost-certain 11th Premier League title and potential European glory, is mired in claim, counter-claim and obfuscation.

I can see why United might want to drag their feet when it comes to forking out around £22million, which is the figure bandied around to make Tevez a permanent signing.

Five Premier League goals in 28 appearances this season. Fifteen goals in 50 appearances in all competitions. It is a worthy contribution.

Is it in the £22m class? That is the conundrum Ferguson and United chief executive David Gill have to juggle.

To date United have had two good seasons out of Tevez for loan cash totalling around £10m. When you consider Middlesbrough paid £12.7m for Brazilian striker Alfonso Alves, who needs a sat-nav system to get anywhere near the 'onion bag', that cash was well spent.

But, in a recession, £22m, £32m in all, for a player who has spent much of his time on the bench would carve a big hole in Ferguson's summer transfer budget. Especially for a player who would bring nothing new. No dramatic improvement. No extra pressure on already established stars.

The chances are that Joorabchian will hold out for the highest bidder. Why wouldn't he when there will be clubs, quite possibly including Manchester City, for whom paying over the odds is not a problem?

Either that or take Tevez to Spain or Italy and pick up £5m a year while still trousering his registration.

The crackdown on third party ownership in the Premier League means Joorabchian can no longer do that in England.

But behind the Tevez saga lies an entire loan system which stinks.

Which allows players to flit from one club to another, on the whim of a manager or director, making temporary contributions which can inflict permanent damage.

Quite possibly, as with Tevez's goals for West Ham two years ago, causing relegation which right now is costing the Hammers £5m a year in compensation to Sheffield United after that well-documented soap opera.

The truth is the clubs see loan signings as a cheap option. A way to plug holes and get misfits off their wages.

It is why consistently they resist attempts to outlaw loan deals. In doing so, however, they create uncertainty and injustice, encourage abuse of the system and put the integrity of the Premier League at risk.

As the cops who stopped Tevez might have said. There is a need for total transparency.

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For Steve Coppell football has always been as much a trial as a treat.

In his playing days for Tranmere and Manchester United and as a manager at Crystal Palace, Manchester City, albeit just six matches and 33 days, Brentford, Brighton and Reading, it has always appeared to extract a high price in terms of energy and mental fortitude.

But few managers have deserved their successes quite as much as Coppell, who resigned at Reading after failing to get them back into the Premier League at the first attempt.

At 53 he intends to take a break from football. The game would be a poorer place if he failed to return.

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The coronation of Manchester United's Ryan Giggs as the PFA Footballer of the Year was a triumph for sentiment and acknowledgement of a player whose career has been a standard for how footballers should behave on and off the field.

The football writers, however, dealt in cold, hard facts.

They chose Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, who has scored 15 goals in 29 Premier League appearances so far this season as well as seven in nine Champions League games.

He has also been the main reason why Liverpool are now realistic title challengers once more. The players and writers were both right, for different reasons.