Manchester United players concerned over growing issues in midfield

Manchester United may be second in the Premier League table, but they will need to improve if they are to have a strong finish to the season.

Jose Mourinho's side are 16 points behind Manchester City, just two points ahead of Liverpool in third, and just three points ahead of Chelsea in fourth. They can still achieve success in the FA Cup and in the Champions League, but they will need to stop the rot away from home to do so. United have lost their last two away games, and were unconvincing on both occasions. Tottenham beat them 2-0 at Wembley, and could have scored more, while Newcastle recorded a well-deserved 1-0 victory over Mourinho's side last Sunday. United's midfield was suspect in both losses, and Paul Pogba was substituted in both games. According to Manchester Evening News, the United players are concerned about those defeats, and feel they have some issues in midfield. The report claims that:

• The players held a "constructive conversation" at half-time of the recent win over Huddersfield.
• Some United players are said to have urged the midfielders to "pass the ball forwards more often."
• The players are not said to be concerned about playing a two-man midfield, despite calls for United to switch to a 4-3-3 formation to accommodate Pogba.
• But the decision-making by some players during United's 1-0 win over Burnley was also said to have been questioned. The team were leading, and Pogba had the ball in this position:

• But decided to shoot rather than pass the ball to Romelu Lukaku, who was free on his right, or to Anthony Martial, who was free to his left. A decision to shoot by Marcus Rashford was also said to have been questioned.

The report claims that Mourinho's main priority in the summer transfer window is to sign a midfielder. Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl and Napoli midfielder Jorginho are said to be among United's targets.