ROME, June 26 - West Ham United striker Carlos Tevez has put Serie A champions Inter Milan at the top of his list of possible transfer destinations.

"Real Madrid want me but I've decided: I'd rather go to Inter than to Real," Tevez told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old Argentine international, who was a key figure in West Ham's drive to avoid relegation last season, has also been linked with a move to Premier League rivals Arsenal as a replacement for Thierry Henry.

Inter already have a large group of Argentine players, including Hernan Crespo, Julio Cruz, Esteban Cambiasso, Walter Samuel, Nicolas Burdisso and Santiago Solari.

"I wouldn't even have problems with the language," Tevez said.

The player who had been most persuasive about Tevez moving to Serie A, however, was his Argentina team mate and Inter captain Javier Zanetti, who has played for the club since 1995.

"I've spoken a lot over the last few days to Javier -- he will be my adviser," Tevez said.

"Inter's a very prestigious team. Daniel Passerella (the former Argentina coach), to whom I'm very attached, played for Inter. It's a team I've learned to admire even from a distance."

Tevez joined West Ham last August along with fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano who subsequently moved to Liverpool.

However, the transfers breached Premier League rules which subsequently cost West Ham a 5.5 million pounds ($11 million) fine but the club were not docked points because they pleaded guilty.

Sheffield United, who were relegated at the end of the season, are disputing that judgment and a tribunal ruling is expected by the end of this month on whether the West Ham case should be reviewed by the Premier League and whether West Ham should still be docked points and/or demoted.