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Paul Scholes believes he knows what Manchester United are missing.

The question is - what will Jose Mourinho do about it?

Scholes’ assertion his former club are short of a world class No10 will come as no surprise to United’s manager.

“At the minute you can see why the football is not that entertaining,” said the United legend. “I always think, a so-called No10, he’s the man who links the team together.

“He’s the man who links the midfield to the forwards and I don’t think they’ve got a good enough No10 at the minute.”

Mourinho spent much of his first season in charge at Old Trafford monitoring Antoine Griezmann.

A combination of Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban and injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic instead convinced United to prioritise an orthodox centre forward in what was a pivotal summer.

But the need to recruit a deeper-lying forward remains - and has only been emphasised during Paul Pogba’s injury absence.

The Frenchman’s creativity and driving runs from midfield were key to United’s rampant start to the season.

Without him Mourinho’s side have lacked the flair, cohesion and ambition of the early weeks of the campaign - even if their challenge on four fronts remains strong.

Even after Pogba’s return, Mourinho’s intention to address the No10 role remains, with a move for Griezmann anticipated in the summer, if not sooner - and Mesut Ozil increasingly linked.

Atletico’s impending elimination from the Champions League - along with Diego Costa’s availability from January, could convince the Spanish side to cash in during the next window - particularly if they fear United turning to free agent Ozil instead.

Mourinho explored the possibility of signing Griezmann last January - but the complexity of such sizeable transfers during mid-season could see him hold off until the summer.

That United sit second in the Premier League and have virtually secured qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League is a testament to Mourinho’s ability to adapt to the loss of Pogba.

But Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s inconsistency raises question marks over his suitability as the main link man.

That the Armenian appears to be preferred to Juan Mata suggests Mourinho has doubts over the Spaniard in that role too.

An option could well be Ibrahimovic as the Swede nears a return from knee ligament damage.

The 36-year-old is on course to be back in contention before the end of the year and has already been handed the No10 shirt.

And with Romelu Lukaku leading the line, he has the intelligence, touch and vision to provide the link Scholes is convinced they are missing.

“They are always facing their back to goal, they are never on the half turn and I think that doesn’t help Lukaku either,” he added on BT Sport. “If you get a No10, with your midfield players playing the ball in to him, he can turn and that opens it up for Lukaku’s movement, which we are not seeing a lot of because No10s are constantly going back into midfield.

“It’s that type of player they are missing - a (Dimitar) Berbatov and Teddy Sheringham, a Dwight Yorke. A player that knits the team together.

“They’ve got quality in Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, just not enough of it.”

By no means is Ibrahimovic the long-term solution - but his quality is without question.

He could also buy Mourinho time before turning his attention to Griezmann and Ozil next summer.

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