Man Utd Transfers: 5 Areas Moyes Must Strengthen In January

3. Central Midfielder

The biggest problem by a mile for the champions is a creative midfielder. Failed bids for Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas and Thiago, as well as a monumental foul up in their pursuit of Athletic Bilbao's Ander Herrera, have meant that the only man brought in to strengthen the middle of the park was Fellaini, who even at the time was not seen as someone who would rectify this problem. The problem being that since United lost Paul Scholes, which proved such a big issue last season that Ferguson was forced to persuade him out of retirement, United do not have a deep lying playmaker. Michael Carrick is an excellent player, and one who is a necessity in keeping the ball, but he is not a man who can unlock defences with one pass. The most suited candidates would appear to be Real Madrid's Luka Modric or Dortmund's Ilkay Gundgoan, with both players having a natural ability to carry the ball forward from a deeper position in the middle of the park. The problem has been there for some time now and players such as Shinji Kagawa, who was seen as a solution as an attacking midfielder, is finding it hard to get into the squad of late due to the heroics of Wayne Rooney in the No.10 role. A solution is needed, and fast.