LESS than half an hour after his horse, What a Friend, eased the misery of the painful Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, Sir Alex Ferguson was announcing that Wayne Rooney will have some goalscoring company next season.

Little is known on these shores about Javier Hernandez, but the 21-year-old, who goes by the title of ‘‘Chicharito’’, has made a name for himself in his homeland, where he has scored almost a goal every two games in his couple of seasons at Chivas.

For his country, Hernandez has done even better, finding the net four times in four appearances.

As United’s first Mexican player, Hernandez will bring novelty value at least should a successful work permit application be concluded prior to official confirmation of his move on July 1.

After being knocked out of the Champions League and losing to Chelsea in the Premier League in the space of four days, Ferguson said: ‘‘We have had to face this many times. But the nature of our club, it is part of our history.

It happens.

‘‘We have five league games to go and we need to win them, starting at Blackburn on Sunday.’’ Speaking about Hernandez, Ferguson added: ‘‘I am delighted to reach agreement with Chivas to bring such an exciting young striker, who has been in such prolific form for his club and country. He will be a great addition to our squad.’’ United will open Chivas’ new stadium in Guadalajara in July as part of the deal, by which time Ferguson will know whether Paul Scholes and Gary Neville have accepted the one-year contract extensions which remain on the table.