“I’m still relatively young but he’s certainly in the top two maybe three players I’ve worked with. He’s got some unbelievable ability as a football player, incredible. His talent is exceptional. He really has fantastic ability.”

Keeping Saha fit has become an imperative for Moyes, but the player himself has pushed himself through the pain barrier to help Everton’s cause this season.

The striker continues to be troubled by a calf problem despite once again returning for France for a period of rehabilitation during the international break.

Nevertheless, Saha is expected to figure at some stage tonight with Everton aiming to end a dismal run of three points from 48 in their last 16 visits to Old Trafford.

“He’s got a calf strain at the moment and didn’t train the week before West Ham because of it,” says Moyes. “He’s still struggling with it, he’s not 100% fit, and while I said he’s a highly-strung athlete who needs to be feeling his best, he has also dug in for us.

“He might have pulled away from it in the past but with us he’s got no choice because we don’t have enough players.

“He went back to a clinic for four or five days at the start of this international break as part of his rehabilitation.”

Saha’s scintillating scoring sequence has prompting a growing call for his reinstatement to the France squad, particularly given they now qualified for the World Cup.

However, Moyes believes the striker’s time may have passed with the French turning to the new guard.

“He has been included in every pre-squad when he’s been fit, he’s always been on stand-by,” says the Goodison manager. “They have good centre-forwards now, Benzema sat on the bench the other night, but if he continues scoring goals he’ll be noticed.

“It maybe that France are now looking to bring through a new wave of player, that era of Louis’s might be at the back end now. I don’t think it’s a driving force for him now. He would love to be involved, but I don’t think it’s the be-all and end-all for him.

“We have been giving him and Sylvain stick about the handball this week. Several French players have been involved in incidents lately so we have let them know about it!”

And the forward still has a fan in United manager Ferguson, who believes there are no better strikers in the Premier League than a fit Saha.

“It is not that he has developed in any way since joining Everton, it is just that he is more consistently free of injury than he was with us,” says Saha.

“We wouldn’t have sold him if he had been a regular performer with us. But unfortunately for Louis and us he kept getting injuries.

“It is just sod’s law. It has worked out well for Louis in the sense he is fitter. There is no doubt that but for his injuries Louis certainly had the talent to make a real impact here. He proved it at times when he was fit.

“He is as good as anything in the league when he is fit. He’s a very good player. He’s two-footed, he’s quick, he’s good in the air, he’s brave, he’s got a fantastic physique. He ticks all the boxes in what you looking for in a striker.”