Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he travelled to France to watch Eden Hazard during Lille's 2-1 defeat to Lyon last month.
The 21-year-old is set to ignite a summer bidding war among the Premier League big guns, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and local rivals Manchester city all said to be interested.
Ferguson said that it is part of his job to scout the best talent and he was personally on hand to run the rule over the highly-rated winger.
"I was at the game and watched Hazard, as well as other players," Ferguson told French radio station RMC. "That's part of my job, looking at good players.
"Hazard is a very good player and has a lot of qualities. He's particularly quick over the first 10 yards."
Hazard has played 26 times for Belgium.