Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has detailed how they came across new signing Javier Hernandez. The 21 year-old striker has signed for United this week from Chivas in Mexico.

"We first received some background knowledge of the boy last October," Ferguson told manutd.com. "One of our scouts went to Mexico in December and watched a few games - the reports that came back were very good. At that time we thought we'd just wait because he was only young.

"But then he came into the national team and that created a potential problem: if he went to the World Cup and did well at the tournament then we could be in danger of losing him.

"So I sent our chief scout, Jim Lawlor, over to Mexico for three weeks to watch him and get some more background on the boy. While Jim was there, Chicharito played twice for the national team and also for Chivas: he scored in every game.

"Jim filed a fantastic report on the boy, so last week we sent our club solicitor over there with Jim to do the deal. We're delighted to sign him."

Although bursting with potential, Chicharito is hardly a global household name. But Sir Alex isn't bothered by the 21-year-old's lack of superstar status.

"We like doing these kind of deals," the boss said. "We identify young talent and we've been good at that over the years. These are the kind of signings we prefer to make."