Alex Ferguson confirms Manchester United are closing in on Brazil starlet Lucas Moura

has admitted Manchester United are trying to sign Brazilian wonderkid Lucas Moura.

As revealed by MirrorFootball, United are closing in on a £26million deal with Sao Paulo for the 19-year-old sensation but the deal is not yet complete.

Ferguson, speaking in Shanghai on United's pre-season tour, said: "We haven't reached an agreement for the player.

"We have shown interest but until such time as we can get an agreement, then we can't say he's our player."

Sao Paulo are understood to have accepted in principle United's bid for Lucas, who is in England for the Olympics.

Ferguson added: "We've signed two players in the summer: [Shinji] Kagawa and [Nick] Powell. We think they both have fantastic potential.Getty

"At this moment, we're looking at other options in terms of bringing other players in.

"We're not lying on our backsides doing nothing. We're trying hard to bring other players to the club."

Lucas is looked after by his father and an agency and they want a big payment too, with United now understood to be trying to agree those figures in a hurry.

Inter Milan and Chelsea also chased Lucas but backed off at the price tag. However Ferguson is determined to land a ‘worldie’ for his squad.