Ferguson paid £17million to sign the 21-year-old from Porto almost two years ago.

Anderson has taken a bit of time to settle in, a succession of injuries hampering him this term, when he has been limited to just 10 Premier League starts.

However, surprisingly chosen ahead of Scholes for Wednesday night's Champions League tussle with Arsenal, Anderson turned in an outstanding performance.

His energetic style completely overshadowed an Arsenal midfield that included a very disappointing Cesc Fabregas and if the youngster can perform a repeat show at the Emirates Stadium next Tuesday, the Red Devils will be well on their way to a Rome meeting with either Chelsea or Barcelona on May 27.

And, while Scholes has given every indication of being around for at least another season, Ferguson feels that when his ginger genius does call time on his stellar career, Anderson will be the perfect man to step into his shoes.

"Anderson is going to replace Paul Scholes," said Ferguson.

"He is an outstanding talent.

"He has fantastic speed and strength and he is only 21."

The one down side for Anderson is his failure to score a single goal since his arrival at Old Trafford.

It is a remarkable statistic for a player who tucked away a nerveless penalty in the Champions League final shoot-out win over Chelsea in Moscow last May.

Anderson had one decent chance in midweek, only to scoop his shot over from the edge of the area.

And it seems Ferguson is not expecting the goal drought to be broken any time soon.

"We are all lighting candles for that," he laughed.

Meanwhile, Ferguson has confirmed he did not reprimand Nani for his early exit from Old Trafford last Saturday.

The Portugal international was substituted at half-time against Tottenham, with the Red Devils two goals adrift and staring defeat in the face.

By Ferguson's own admission, Carlos Tevez's arrival proved to be the catalyst for an astonishing turnaround in fortunes, although it seemed Nani was not entirely happy about the outcome, leaving before the final whistle.

However, the former Sporting Lisbon star - who was signed on the same day as Anderson but has not had the same impact - has patched up any differences of opinion with Ferguson.

"He was disappointed he was taken off," said Ferguson.

"I had to make a substitution at the time and I explained that to him the next day. But he trained and there was no problem."