Javier Hernandez has been hailed as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's natural successor and the man whose goals can fire Manchester United to a repeat of their 1999 Treble triumph.

Hernandez - also known as Chicharito, Spanish for Little Pea - has been a revelation for United in his debut season, his 16 goals keeping Sir Alex Ferguson's side on course to scoop the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

And former United striker Andy Cole, who played alongside Solskjaer during that historic 1999 campaign, believes Hernandez has what it takes to replicate Solskjaer's success and become an Old Trafford legend.

Hernandez, signed for a relatively modest £7million fee from Chivas Guadalajara, has already edged Dimitar Berbatov out of the picture with his goals, and Cole predicted the 22-year-old will eventually become just as prolific as Solskjaer.

"He has pushed that situation [with Berbatov]," said Cole. "When the manager plays you and you score, then he plays you again and you get another goal, then you come on as a sub and still score, you force his hand.

"Hernandez has done that. He's got 16 goals. Come on, 16 in a debut season? That's some going. He's been compared to Ole, and rightly so.

"Some people say he's like a young Michael Owen. Not for me. He's totally different. He reminds me of Ole in the way he comes off the bench.

"Ole used to study games from the bench and get involved in the game straight away and know exactly what to do. Hernandez is the same. If he plays, he scores. People might say he doesn't sometimes complete a game if he starts, but you have to remember it's his first season.

"I think he'll get stronger, he'll get better and better and he'll score a lot more goals for United. He'll be up there for the young player of the year award this season and rightly so."

Ferguson has admitted Hernandez has exceeded all expectations this season.

The United boss planned to use the Mexico international sparingly and allow him to settle into his new life with a view to seeing him realise his potential over time.

But Hernandez's immediate impact and goalscoring exploits, which have included six winners for United, has forced Ferguson's hand and meant he has been unable to leave the man dubbed Chicharito - the Little Pea - out of his starting line-up.

Crucially, Cole believes Hernandez, with his quick movement, deadly finishing and penchant for getting into dangerous positions behind defences, offers United something different to the qualities provided by Wayne Rooney and Berbatov.

"People have talked for years about United not having anyone who wants to get in behind teams and stretch them," said Cole. "But Hernandez has come in and changed that.

"It's an opportunity for Wayne or Berba, when they do play, to drop back a bit more and expose the space from there."

Alhough Hernandez has leapt ahead of Berbatov in the pecking order at United, Cole believes the £30m Bulgarian striker still has a role to play at United.

With 21 goals this season, Berbatov is United's top scorer and Cole claimed his worth to the club should not be undermined.

"Berba's goals may have come in clutches, but it makes no difference," said Cole. "He's scoring goals. People always question forwards if they don't score goals, but he's got himself 21 goals this season. I wouldn't complain if I got myself that many goals.

"Everyone has questioned him for the two years he's been at the club, but now he's in his third year and he's got 21 goals.

"I've said numerous times I think Berba is a fantastic player. People talk about the current United side as not being the sexiest, or this or that. But if you took Berba out of this team and put him in one of the United teams I played in, or one before that, I don't think people would make any moans or groans about him because everyone knows the quality he has got it.

"People look at this United team and say it's not as exciting as it should be but it's still a good team, a very good team, and one that's in great position to win the league.

"All the current United strikers have got different strengths.

"You've got Wayne's industry, work-rate and ability to produce quality out of nothing. Then you have Berba, very languid in his style, great quality, unbelievable first touch and a player who can produce some magic, and Hernandez, who loves to get in behind opponents and hurt them, has great movement and gets into space, so they all have different qualities."

Despite his belief that United will emerge triumphant in the title race this season to clinch a record 19th championship, Cole, like Ferguson himself, believes a repeat of the 1999 Treble is unrealistic.

"It's tough [to win the Treble]," he said. "If the manager has come out and said it's tough, then you know it's going to be very hard. The Treble is talked about so flippantly every season, but it's not as easy as that.

"We were fortunate to have a bit of luck when we won it. We played some really good football that season too, which was a big factor, but we had a bit of luck when we needed it. We went to Villa Park in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, Roy Keane got sent off and [Ryan] Giggs produced a wonder goal.

"In the European Cup final that year, Bayern Munich hit the bar and the post, then we got an equaliser and the winner in added time. So you need things like that to happen.

"If you look at that season as a whole, things like that worked out well for us."