Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claims his club have “no real interest” in Wesley Sneijder and accepts there is no point worrying about who will replace the newly-retired Paul Scholes.

The Scot has devoted much of his summer to solving the conundrum of who will fill Scholes’s boots and, so far, he is still to find an answer.

Of the three players linked most often with a potential Old Trafford move, Luka Modric has made it plain he wishes to leave Tottenham for Chelsea, while Samir Nasri will join Manchester City if he leaves Arsenal – according to Ferguson, at any rate.

It did seem Sneijder was on the brink of leaving Inter, only for Ferguson to claim there was no United interest in the Holland midfielder.

“Time and time again we have faced this problem,” he said.

“We have lost great players and you are worrying about it. But eventually something turns up, either through our youth system or we will identify someone.”

It is plausible that, taking into account Sneijder’s vast wages and a pretty significant transfer fee, the sums just do not add up for United to splash out on a 27-year-old, even if someone will have to fill the void created by Scholes’ retirement.

“It is a loss,” said Ferguson.

“Paul was a player of a lifetime. In his 20 years at the club, it is hard to pick out a bad game. He was such a consistent player for us.

“I don’t think we will find another Paul Scholes. But hopefully we can replace him. Maybe we will find a different type of player.”