Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Manchester United are in negotiations to sign Brazilian international Lucas Moura from São Paulo.
Lucas, who will compete for Brazil in the London 2012 Olympic Games, has been linked with United over the past few weeks, with one report this morning claiming the club had agreed a fee for the 20-year-old.
Ferguson revealed this was not true however, when approached on the subject at a club press conference in Shanghai.
"It's not correct. We haven't reached an agreement for the player. We've shown an interest but until such time we reach an agreement we can't say he's ours.
"We're not lying on our backsides doing nothing. We're trying hard to bring other players to the club."
For the second time in under a week Ferguson has taken the unusual step of revealing his public interest in a player, having confirmed the Red Devils had a bid rejected for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie on Friday.
Already they have signed Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund and Nick Powell from Crewe Alexandra this summer.
Lucas played his first game in England on Friday, when he arrived as a second-half substitute against Team GB in Brazil's 2-0 win at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium.
United face Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday in their third pre-season tour match, as they take on former nemesis Didier Drogba.