Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took the reigns at Manchester United there has been a marked improvement across the entire squad.

Players who had been out of the team under Jose Mourinho have found themselves back in the XI and United have begun to play some of their most scintillating football in years.

Solskjaer seems certain to take the job on a permanent basis in the summer and despite the improvement there are still areas in the squad that will need addressing in the summer.

In Part 2 of my in depth look at where I think United need to move players on and bring others in, I turn my attention to United’s midfield and attackers.

For Part 1, looking at options in Goal and in Defence, click here.

Centre-Midfield

Perhaps the most improved area since Solskjaer took over, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba look unlikely to be deposed as the first choice trio in the middle of the park anytime soon.

Injuries and suspensions have restricted the three from playing together in recent weeks, meaning fringe players have begun to get more game time to make their cases for inclusion in the team.

Scott McTominay has been given Matic’s role at the base of midfield in the Serbian’s absence and has impressed. At just 21 the Scotland international still has time to improve and has been compared favourably to ex-red Darren Fletcher.

Despite struggling against Burnley, Andreas Pereira put in a decent performance when he came on for Herrera against Liverpool and like McTominay is still just a youngster with room to grow and has shown flashes of talent.

The final man given the chance to play due to injuries is Fred, the much maligned Brazilian having struggled for game time since arriving in England but has begun to show the kind of talent that persuaded United to sign him in the first place.

The trio of McTominay, Pereira and Fred was given perhaps one of the biggest tests possible against PSG and they made it through with flying colours, each putting in one of their best performances for United, particularly McTominay who harried and pressed Marco Verrati and Marquinhos to limit their influence on the game.

With three academy graduates already impressing in midfield, there may be more to come from the latest crop of talent. 17-year-old James Garner is a holding midfielder and made his senior debut in the last few minutes against Crystal Palace and has already drawn comparisons from Solskjaer to Michael Carrick.

In a more advanced midfield role, Angel Gomes has been hovering around the first-team for a couple of years now since making his debut on the final day of the 2016/17 season and recently came on against Huddersfield.

But United will clearly have choices to make in midfield; is Fred good enough? Do they trust the current crop of youngsters to make the step up to the first XI? Do they need to bring in some extra cover?

One thing that is arguably missing is any real cover for Paul Pogba although the midfield would probably be completely reworked in his absence. Of United’s current crop of midfielders however, the Frenchmen is the only true play-maker so signing a good passer of the ball, such as Monaco’s Youri Tielemans who has impressed on loan at Leicester, should be top of the midfield shopping list.

Wingers

This could be where Solskjaer faces his biggest challenge, as United’s wide options are looking somewhat depleted.

Obviously Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard have impressed and will be at the club next season, but their are real questions over their deputies, Juan Mata and in particular, Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez has severely underwhelmed at Old Trafford and his huge wage bill is proving problematic as other players use the Chileans wages as a benchmark for their own, with David De Gea reportedly seeking to match the reported £450,000 a week Sanchez is on. If he continues to perform badly Sanchez may well find himself out of the door.

While Mata has been a far more consistent performer for the Red Devils, the Spaniard is not a natural winger and lacks the pace of Lingard or Martial to be a consistent figure in Solskjaer’s very fast paced teams. A move centrally where the Spaniard is more comfortable may be on the cards when United play in their diamond formation but he is unlikely to play  if Lingard is fit.

Rumours of a new signing out wide have been abound for a few years now, with Ivan Perisic a consistent mention although recently Jadon Sancho has become United’s first choice.

Sancho would seem a much better fit, able to play on both sides and with the turn of pace that Solskjaer asks of his wingers.  The Englishman would make an excellent replacement for Sanchez, whose sale would free up a large amount of money from the transfer fee and the wage bill.

Also coming through is Tahith Chong, a pacey and direct winger who made his debut as a substitute against Reading in the FA Cup and came on as a substitute against PSG, another youngster who Solskjaer thinks highly of and could make the breakthrough for next season.

Strikers

No doubt one of the most improved players under Solskjaer has been Marcus Rashford. Finally given the chance to make a mark playing centrally, Rashford has been in supreme form and looks set to lead United’s line for years to come.

Romelu Lukaku has also stepped up in recent games, scoring 6 goals in his last 3 games, finally recapturing the form that United paid a reported £90 million for and reasserting himself in the United XI.

Add into that the breakthrough of Mason Greenwood, who finally made his first-team debut as a late substitute against PSG and Solskjaer and with Martial also providing another option up front, United suddenly seem incredibly well stocked up top and unless any of these three departs there doesn’t seem to be any need for a new recruitment.

So there we have it, my thoughts on what Manchester United need to do in the summer to improve their squad although the biggest signing would be off the pitch.

It’s not a new position to take, but giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the job now seems to be United’s only feasible option; the feel-good factor he has brought to the United team and fans, the way he has improved the team and restored pride at Old Trafford makes him the only real choice.

Before any other business is done, United’s hierarchy need to get the Norwegian to sign on the dotted line. Once that’s done the real work to return United to the top of the League begins.