Manchester United confidently expect to begin their summer transfer business by signing Raphaël Varane from Lens in a continuation of their policy to recruit potential stars of the future rather than established category-A players.

Varane is regarded as one of the outstanding young players in the French game after breaking into the Lens team at the age of 17. Now 18, he was unable to stop them being relegated from Ligue 1 but has been commended for his mature performances after establishing himself in the side over the past two months.

Sir Alex Ferguson's scouts have been regular visitors to the Stade Félix-Bollaert during that period. Formal talks have opened between the clubs and, subject to a fee being agreed, the deal is described as being very close. Lens initially asked for around £10m for a player who signed a new contract in February to tie him to the club to 2015. United want to pay less and the latest discussions have centred on reaching a compromise and the structure of the payments.

After that, Varane's advisers have floated the possibility that he could go on loan to another club, possibly Paris Saint-Germain, next season. The player's concern about moving to Manchester is that he will not get many first-team opportunities, but the early feedback from Old Trafford is that Ferguson wants him to get to know the English game.

Varane, a France Under-21 international who has also represented his country at Under-18 and Under-17 level, is described by the Lens youth-team coach, Eric Assadourian, as a "truly first-class player". Fast, strong and competitive, he stands at 6ft 3in and his ability in the air is reflected in the headed goals he has scored from corners in two of his past three games.

Varane played those matches as a defensive central midfielder but it is his performances as a centre-half that have brought him to the attention of Ferguson at a time when Rio Ferdinand can no longer be guaranteed to play a full season and Wes Brown is out of contract next summer and contemplating ending his long association with the club.

As well as Nemanja Vidic, Ferguson also has Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans to provide extra competition for the centre-half places. Yet Ferdinand's recurrent injury issues have meant the 32-year-old is used sparingly these days while Brown, at 31, has played only seven league games this season, not even qualifying for a championship medal.

In Varane's case, there was a need for United to act quickly, in the knowledge that Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, is also acutely aware of the teenager's emergence. The player has had other offers from France, Spain and Germany and Lens have no appetite for trying to persuade him to stay now they have been demoted to the second tier of French football.

The fact Varane can also play in a holding midfield role will also appeal to Ferguson, especially as Owen Hargreaves's contract at Old Trafford runs out next month.

Ferguson has placed particular emphasis on United's scouting network since it became clear the newly crowned champions no longer have the financial muscle to challenge Manchester City and Chelsea in the transfer market. The emphasis now is on identifying young players who can form part of the club's future without necessarily costing vast sums of money. Cristiano Ronaldo is the prime example and, more recently, Smalling is also in that category, costing £10m from Fulham but relatively unknown when the deal was arranged in January last year.

If everything goes according to plan with Varane, the emphasis will switch back to finding a replacement for Edwin van der Sar. United's interest in David de Gea of Atlético Madrid has cooled a little in the past few months because of his erratic performances and Van der Sar is recommending the club go for the man who has replaced him in the Holland team, Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax.