Manchester United have taken control of their League Cup semi-final with Hull after winning the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Jose Mourinho’s men struggled to break down a stubborn Hull backline during the first half, and had to wait until 11 minutes into the second to get the opener when Juan Mata finished at the far post after a good header from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Marco Silva’s Tigers would likely have settled with 1-0, yet they conceded again three minutes from time when substitute Marouane Fellaini powered home Matteo Darmian’s teasing cross.

It means that United have extended their winning run to nine games, and indeed have a great chance of getting the job done at the KCOM Stadium in two weeks’ time to advance to a ninth League Cup final.

Mourinho’s men have been on an excellent run of late, and will go into their Premier League clash with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on Sunday hoping to record a tenth consecutive win, a victory that would them just two points behind the Merseyside outfit.

Despite United’s fine run of form, some still feel that they were come up short unless Mourinho adds to his squad this month, so here are TWO midfielders that would be perfect for Man United in January…

Tiemoue Bakayoko

With United set to let Morgan Schneiderlin join Everton, and with Michael Carrick 36 in July, Mourinho must be thinking about a long-term defensive midfield option.

And that man could be Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko, who was linked with several Premier League clubs a few months back, and that interest has reportedly resurfaced in the last few days.

The 22-year-old has been one of Monaco’s best players this season, and has regularly been the key man in their midfield over the course of the campaign.

He’s even added goals in recent times, having netted in their defeat to Lyon and the win over Caen in December, and he also played the full 90 minutes in their 1-1 draw with Sochaux yesterday.

The French Under-21 international is extremely highly-rated, so it’s no wonder that Chelsea and Manchester City are also keeping tabs on him ahead of a potential January move.

With Ander Herrera improving every week, Mourinho could look at Bakayoko as the perfect partner for the Spaniard, both for this season and for many years to come.

Mesut Ozil

Can you imagine the uproar if Arsenal were to sell Mesut Ozil to Manchester United, especially after what happened with Robin van Persie?

It’s not entirely out of the question, as the German international has still yet to agree a new and improved deal at the Emirates, a contract saga that has been running for a few months now.

He has said that he will only sign if manager Arsene Wenger extends his stay at the club and, given that the Frenchman will likely wait until the end of the season to make a decision, there will be an uncertain few months for Arsenal fans in the near future.

And, given how well Ozil played under Mourinho at Real Madrid, and how highly the Portuguese rates the midfielder, there is every chance that he could bring him to Old Trafford.

Ozil has three-and-a-half years’ experience of Premier League football under his belt, with this current campaign his best to date, so it wouldn’t be too much of a risk, yet it could ultimately end in rich reward for United over the next few years.