Manchester United: What to do to challenge for the title next season

Paul Pogba’s inconsistency has been one of Mourinho’s biggest problems. A commonly thought reason for this is the fact that Pogba has often been asked to play in a midfield two, as opposed to operating on the left of a three, like he did at Juventus.

The extra man in midfield allows Pogba to stretch his legs and venture further forward. This affects the game closer to the opposing penalty area. Some of his best performances in a red shirt have come in a midfield three, such as the 2-1 win against Chelsea and the second half against City a week ago.

If Mourinho decides to permanently switch to a 4-3-3, the third member of the midfield becomes a vital cog in the machine. If Pogba and Nemanja Matic start, the third option is usually Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay or Ander Herrera.

Mata and Lingard are more effective as a part of the forward three, while McTominay is perhaps too similar to Matic. Herrera is an excellent squad player, and can occasionally annoy opposition teams into submission. His passing range is too limited at times to link up the attacking and defensive halves of the side.

If United want to play a three-man midfield, Mourinho may have to splash the cash for someone like Jorginho from Napoli or Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio. If he wants to persist with a two-man central partnership, he needs to get Pogba to adapt his game to suit the style.