Manchester United's goal-shy midfield has shown why they need Bruno Fernandes... fans will hope the reason super agent Jorge Mendes was at Old Trafford was to seal the £60m transfer
* Manchester United are understood to be offering £50m plus £10m in add-ons
* Mendes has been at the centre of talks between Sporting Lisbon and United
* Red Devils are keen to solve their chronic shortage of goals from midfield
* Juan Mata's winner against Wolves in the FA Cup was something of a rarity
The sight of Jorge Mendes in the directors' box at Old Trafford on Wednesday night was perhaps no surprise given his involvement at Wolves, but it is the super agent's connection to Bruno Fernandes that will interest Manchester United fans far more.
Mendes has been at the centre of negotiations between Sporting Lisbon and United, who are understood to be offering £50million plus £10m in add-ons to sign Fernandes in the January transfer window.
One look at the 25-year-old's stats will tell you why United are so keen to bring in Fernandes six months early to solve their chronic shortage of goals from midfield.
Manchester United have offered £50m plus £10m in add-ons for midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Agent Jorge Mendes was spotted in the directors' box at Old Trafford on Wednesday night
Last season, he established himself as the most prolific midfielder in Europe with 32 goals and 18 assists in 53 appearances for Sporting. He has continued in a similar vein this term with 15 goals and 13 assists in 25 matches.
Even taking into account the difference between Portugal and the Premier League, those figures are in stark contrast to United's midfielders who have relied heavily on Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood to carry the goal scoring burden this season.
Juan Mata may have scored the decisive goal to take United into the fourth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Wolves, but it was something of a rarity - and not only because it was only the little Spaniard's second of the season.
After a total of 174 appearances in this campaign, eight midfielders - Mata, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, Fred, Scott McTominay and Dan James - have now scored a meagre 10 goals between them.
United's drab midfield display against Wolves showed just why they need to sign Fernandes
McTominay, a defensive midfielder, is the joint leading scorer among them with three, although he is currently sidelined with a knee injury.
James also has three but the last of them came back in August. Although the summer signing has been a big positive this season, his form has dipped of late and he missed several chances against Wolves.
Pereira's screamer against Brighton in November remains his only goal of the campaign to date having finished last season with only one goal to his name. Lingard also has one but he is without a Premier League goal in 13 months.
Fred and Matic have yet to score between them from a combined total of 39 games. Pogba is still waiting to get off the mark after contributing 16 goals last season, although in the Frenchman's defence he has played only eight games due to an ankle problem that required surgery.
With all that in mind, it's hardly surprising that United failed to muster a single shot on target at Wolves when the first instalment of this third-round tie finished goalless at Molineux earlier this month.
They created more opportunities in the replay but James wasted the best of them. The game was only a few minutes old when he raced into the box and touched the ball past John Ruddy only to see the Wolves keeper get a vital touch on the ball that prevented him going through on an open goal.
James found himself facing Ruddy again three minutes before half-time when he sprang the offside trap and controlled Fred's throughball inside the penalty box. The keeper stood tall again though and managed to keep the ball out as James attempted to lift it over him.
The Wales winger had another clear sight of goal seven minutes after the break when he accelerated into the box again but this time dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Ruddy also denied Mata with a smart save in the 28th minute but he was helpless to stop United's No 8 from scoring the decisive goal in the 67th minute.
Harry Maguire played the ball upfield and Martial turned Conor Coady to break over halfway. The Frenchman sent Mata away and he drew Ruddy before showing great composure to dink the ball over the keeper.
It was the first goal scored by a United player other than Rashford, Martial and Greenwood in 10 games since Mata and Ashley Young were on target against AZ Alkmaar a month ago.
That's why United are so keen to sign Fernandes. And, their fans will hope, why Mendes was sat in the directors' box on Wednesday night.
Code:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7892561/Manchester-Uniteds-midfield-display-shows-just-need-Bruno-Fernandes.html