MARK Hughes has hinted he would be interested in signing Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs this summer IF Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson decided to call time on the duo's careers at Old Trafford.

The Blackburn Rovers chief is a confirmed admirer of the two midfielders, who both broke through at United during the Welshman's second spell with the club in the mid-1990s.

And Hughes admits he would jump at the chance of bringing them both to Ewood in the close season if Fergie decided the time was right to show them the Old Trafford exit door.

"If players of the ilk of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes came onto the market then everyone would be interested, irrespective of their ages," said the Rovers boss, speaking ahead of tomorrow's sell-out clash with United at Ewood Park.

"They have the capacity to be able to affect games at Premier League level and you are always looking for those types of players, so everybody would be interested if they became available.

"But given their connection with United, and the fact they have never been anywhere else, do they need to leave? I would suggest possibly they don't."

Although Giggs and Scholes remain key figures in a United squad that is on course to win back-to-back Premier League titles, Hughes knows from personal experience that Ferguson can be ruthless when it comes to freshening up his squad.

In the summer of 1995, after United lost the Premier League title to Rovers, Hughes was shipped out of Old Trafford at the age of 31, together with Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis, as part of a famous Fergie cull.

At the time, it seemed like a hasty decision but United then went on to win the double the following season, as the likes of Scholes, David Beckham and Nicky Butt - all stars of United's youth team - came to the fore.

Now Hughes believes the emergence of Anderson and Nani could ultimately lead to the exits of Giggs, 34, and Scholes, 33, if not this summer then when their existing deals run out in 12 months' time.

"I think evolution is going on," said the Rovers boss.

"Sir Alex seems to be excited by the group of players that he has at the moment, and that includes the senior players as well, because he knows that they can still fulfil a role for him.

"But as this season comes to a conclusion and next year starts, the younger players in his squad will come more to the fore.

"That process always happens and at a big club like United, at some point, you know there will be good young players coming through to replace you.

"That happened to me, and it will happen to the likes of Scholesy and Giggsy.

"But in the meantime, you do your best to make sure you are still involved in the team and you are having an impact for the manager, and the longer you can do that, the longer you will stick around.

"Sir Alex seems to give players a little bit more time than he used to, in fairness.

"It used to be 31; now it's about 34!"