Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has picked out three areas that he believes the Red Devils need to address in the transfer market, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad considered to be alarmingly short on creativity.
A team which has been struggling to find a spark this season, especially on the road, returned to winning ways on Thursday with a narrow 1-0 Europa League win over Partizan Belgrade.
An Anthony Martial penalty got them over the line in that contest, bringing to an end a 232-day wait for a victory away from home and a first success across 90 minutes of any given game since September 19.
Former United midfielder Scholes believes the problems facing Solskjaer in an ongoing bid to return former glories to Old Trafford are fairly obvious, with it clear that any funds made available in upcoming windows need to be invested in the final third of the field.
He told BT Sport: “It’s a team that really lacks creativity.
“We’re lacking a real No. 10 I think, a player that can play passes through and is capable of scoring goals as well.
“Also maybe a patrolling midfield player who can set all the play up as well, take the ball off the back four and link it through to the forward.
“And I also think they’re desperate for a No. 9, I don’t think they’re good enough in the forward areas.
“But it’s the start of Ole’s rebuild, he didn’t think [Romelu] Lukaku was good enough for that, he didn’t see a place for [Alexis] Sanchez so he’s got rid of them.
“And now over the next year or so he’s got to bring and really find players, special players, in those forward areas that can win games.
“When they go up against a Chelsea, who are very good in possession, [or] Manchester City and Liverpool who are very good in possession, I don’t think United are good enough to keep possession like those teams do.
“So I think that’s why counter-attacking on Sunday [against Liverpool], goals like this, probably suited them.
“It’s when you play your Crystal Palaces and your Newcastles when you have all the possession, do you have the players that are special enough in the forward areas to win games of football? And in the midfield areas?
“At the minute it doesn’t look like they do.”
Scholes has suggested that Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil could be a short-term solution for United, with the World Cup winner currently frozen out by Gunners boss Unai Emery and seemingly edging his way towards a January move elsewhere.