Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed Manchester United are interested in signing Brazilian youngster Lucas Moura.
Moura, who is currently with the Brazilian Olympic squad, is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in South America, with Sao Paulo recently suggesting they had rejected a €35million (£27million, $42.5 million) offer from the Old Trafford club.
Ferguson admitted his interest in the player, but added the deal was far from done, with some reports on Sunday suggesting United had sealed the signing. "It's not correct," the United manager told a press conference in Shanghai. "We haven't reached an agreement for the player.
"We've shown an interest but until such time we get a deal agreed we can't say he's our player."
While praising United's two new signings Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell, Ferguson revealed he was looking to bring in a few more new faces. The Scot recently admitted he had put in a bid for wantaway Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie.
"We've signed two players in the summer: Kagawa and Powell," he said. "We think they both have fantastic potential.
"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."
Ferguson also gave updates on the injury situations of Nemanja Vidic and Jonny Evans, after Chris Smalling was ruled out for eight weeks. "It's not 100 percent that Jonny Evans and Vida will start the season," he said. "Jonny will start running today. Vida and Phil Jones started full training today, which is very positive.
"If I can keep Rio (Ferdinand) fit, then Vidic and Jones should give us ample cover."
Ferguson also took time to praise the evergreen Paul Scholes, who extended his playing career to one more year recently, while giving a further update on Darren Fletcher's recovery. "Darren Fletcher has a medical situation that he's trying hard to keep under control.
"We don't expect him back immediately but, hopefully, he does come back at some point.
"Paul Scholes, a year ago, was coaching my reserves. Now he's back playing and everybody attached to United is delighted. He's such a fantastic player."
Ferguson said Powell had the talent to be the long-term successor to Scholes. "In the long-term, trying to replace Scholes is very difficult. To replace a great player like him would be hard for anyone.
"We always hope somebody turns up through the ranks of United, from the academy.
"We've also signed the young boy Nick Powell. We hope he develops into a top-class center-midfield player because he has very good potential."
