Sir Alex Ferguson has been warned off trying to sign the new scoring sensation of German football, Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic, after receiving glowing reports on him.

Hoffenheim, a village of 3,000 inhabitants, have taken the Bundesliga by storm in their first season by overhauling Bayern Munich and Hamburg to top the table.

Nobody has caught the eye more than Bosnia frontrunner Ibisevic, 24, whose 13 goals have made him the leading scorer and a target for Bayern and Manchester United, who both had him watched in the 3-0 victory over Hamburg 10 days ago.

But billionaire software maker Dietmar Hopp, who has bankrolled his home village’s fairytale rise, said: ‘I have not invested so much in my club to allow others to come along and start picking off our best players. We don’t need the money and we won’t be selling anyone.’