Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson denies delivering contract ultimatum to Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder

The Italian outfit were waiting for a formal offer from the Red Devils for the Netherlands international, with a view to pursuing their interest in wantaway Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.

Sneijder had also interested City, but as Goal.com exclusively revealed, the player told the Eastlands club he would prefer to join Manchester United, although his wage demands have forced the Old Trafford club to lower their offer to Inter to £24 million.

The Serie A club’s chief executive Ernesto Paolillo has hinted that the Dutchman could still be sold for the “right price”. Inter reportedly want £35m for him, but may be prepared to settle for £30m.

The key factor is likely to be the personal terms that will persuade Sneijder to move. It has been suggested by The Mail on Sunday that United may already have made an offer to the midfielder, as they quoted Sir Alex as saying: “If he wants to come he must accept our contract offer. If not, we have other options in mind. We’re done talking.”

However, the veteran boss has denied having made such remarks, and insists that there has been no progress on the Sneijder situation.

“Absolute nonsense,” he said. “I have never discussed him. There is nothing new.”

The Red Devils have, though, been reportedly on the lookout for a replacement to fill the void left by midfielder Paul Scholes, who hung up his boots at the end of last season.

Now the 69-year-old manager has hinted that youngster Tom Cleverley could potentially be a long-term successor to Scholes, expressing satisfaction over the 21-year-old’s performance during the 2-1 friendly victory over Barcelona in Washington DC.

“It is an area we have to find a solution for,” said Sir Alex.

“That is why we played Tom Cleverley today. Physically he is not the strongest but he is wiry and has a great idea of the game.

“He is a good footballer and was our best player today.

“His discipline was terrific. He is a quick passer of the ball. He has good eyes.

“It was a big night for him. He is a big, strong possibility for us to start the season.”

The Red Devils’ boss also maintained that he had made the right decision by signing young goalkeeper David De Gea as a replacement for Edwin van der Sar – who has retired from professional football.

“Replacing Edwin van der Sar is very difficult,” said the Scot. “He was a great goalkeeper.

“But the benefit we have with De Gea is that he is only 20.

“The qualities that stood out for us are his great composure and use of the ball.

“He is quick and agile, which is something we banked on.

“When we assessed him I thought he was the right goalkeeper to take.”

Sir Alex also revealed that striker Javier Hernandez has been cleared to fly back to England, having previously suffered a concussion in training after returning from international duty to join his club-mates on the pre-season tour of the USA.

“Javier is coming back with us,” the manager said.

“He is fine. He won’t play for a couple of weeks but that would have been the case anyway.

“He was always going to need a break until he got his fitness back.

“He will do some training, then we will have him back in three to four weeks.”