Sheffield United manager Slavisa Jokanovic has cited his inability to call on other options when certain players aren't playing well as a key area he needs to address during the January transfer window, speaking to The Star.
The Blades have been extremely underwhelming this season in their quest to get back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, only climbing up to 17th place in the table yesterday after Reading's six-point deduction for breaching financial rules.
Some would argue part of this is due to their previous transfer window, rushing to complete the vast majority of their business at the very end of August with Conor Hourihane, Morgan Gibbs-White and Robin Olsen all joining in the final two days.
Reportedly missing out on one top target in Barcelona winger Alex Collado in the final knockings of the summer, the South Yorkshire outfit failed to bring in a single, orthodox winger, exacerbating the teething problems Jokanovic has had in switching from a back three to a 4-2-3-1 system.
Although he has a considering amount of squad depth in certain positions, including the forward department and at full-back, there are a couple of areas United need to address in their quest to climb up the table and away from lower mid-table mediocrity.
53-year-old Jokanovic himself has admitted he requires two wingers and a holding midfielder when the next calendar year comes around - putting depth as well as quality at the top of his agenda going into the winter period.
Stressing the desperate need for the former, he said to the Sheffield Star: "Time is going quick and we need to check how we can support the team, to play better football and to be more successful.
"Sometimes there doesn’t exist different solutions for the team and you must stay with the same players, even if they are not performing especially so good.
"We can fix part of that in the January transfer window and I hope that we will make some important steps for us."
The Verdict:
With Sander Berge and Adlene Guedioura's injury worries, it's no real surprise that the Blades are targeting a holding midfielder as a key area they will need to address.
Oliver Norwood, John Fleck and Conor Hourihane are very capable Championship options on paper and should be able to do a job for their side, but the latter especially has failed to meet fans' expectations and amid interest from Premier League side Norwich City, he could potentially be recalled by Aston Villa in January.
This would make a holding midfielder a must-have - but one position that should be even higher on their agenda is the wing area.
Failing to bring in a couple of options in this position has arguably been United's most costly mistake of the previous window - and they have no one to blame but themselves considering they knew this was a position they needed to address with a likely change in formation way back at the end of May.
Ben Osborn is a reliable option to have out wide and he's clearly benefitting from playing in his more advanced role, but he desperately needs more competition for a starting spot and this is why the club must move quickly in January to allow new additions the sufficient time to settle in. This makes the summer transfer period one they need to learn from.