MANCHESTER United manager Sir Alex Ferguson could be lining up a summer swoop for Morten Gamst Pedersen.

The Old Trafford chief plans to strengthen his midfield in the close season and he sent Paul Scholes to Ewood on a special spying mission at the weekend, with Pedersen believed to be the player under scrutiny.

Ferguson is a confirmed admirer of the Norwegian international and he thought about signing him two years ago, before Graeme Souness succeeded in luring him from Tromso to Blackburn.

Since then, Pedersen's stock has risen even further following a string of impressive performances for Rovers in the Premiership, and he has caught the eye in particular when playing against United, scoring three times against them this season alone.

The 24-year-old also shone on Saturday against Boro, bagging his 10th goal of another productive season from a well-executed free kick, which will have led to Scholes delivering another glowing report.

Ferguson's top priority remains a central midfielder to fill the void left by Roy Keane, who quit Old Trafford earlier this season, and Scholes recently visited the Reebok, where he was believed to be checking out Bolton's Kevin Nolan in their Premiership clash with West Ham.

But, with Scholes' own long-term future shrouded in mystery because of a worrying eye injury and Ryan Giggs no longer the marauding figure he once was, Fergie knows he needs further reinforcements and a free-scoring midfielder like Pedersen could emerge as a target.

However, Mark Hughes' blond bomber is in no rush to leave Blackburn - in fact, only last week he said his ambition was to win something with Rovers - and he insists he won't let any speculation regarding his future affect his form during the run-in.

He said: "For me, when I'm going into a game, I don't think about which clubs might be interested in me, I just focus on what I'm going to do on the pitch.

"If people ask you about something they've seen in a newspaper, then of course you are going to think about it just to give an answer.

"But you can't think about it all the time, you have to put it to one side, because I'm a Blackburn player, I want to become a better player for Blackburn, and I want to win something with Blackburn."