Lyon striker Karim Benzema would be an expensive buy according to Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson but admits the player is a genuine star.

In the January transfer window, Benzema was reportedly worth more than £45 million after a bid by Chelsea was turned down and although Ferguson said he would not pay that much, he heaped praise on the 21-year old.

"He's an excellent footballer. He makes me think of [Zinedine] Zidane with the way he puts his body in position. His shoulders are large and he is excellent at carrying the ball, it's glued to his feet," the Scot told Le Journal du Dimanche.

"The defender can never cut in. But don't say that I want to buy him [laughs]!"

"You always have to keep an eye on the very best players, on what he's going to become.

"But Lyon's president's a wise man. He sold [Michael] Essien [to Chelsea] for €38 million (£34 million), [Mahamadou] Diarra for €19 million [£17 million, to Real Madrid], [Florent] Malouda for €19 million [£17 million, to Chelsea] and [Eric] Abidal for €16 million [£14 million to Barcelona].

"I must congratulate him! When we played at Lyon last season, he told me: Chelsea are offering me €50 million for Benzema. I replied: for such a price he's theirs!"