Louis van Gaal has admitted that neither Juan Mata or Jesse Lingard are speedy enough to play on the wings for his Manchester United team.
The Dutch boss had praise for Lingard, who scored his first Manchester United goal in a 2-0 win against West Brom on Saturday and assisted on Wayne Rooney's winner in the Champions League on Tuesday.
However, Van Gaal suggested United may need a faster player than Lingard on the flanks, despite his fine performances against CSKA Moscow and West Brom.
"I have said already many times we need speed and creativity on the wings," Van Gaal added. "You have seen that now we play with Jesse Lingard and he is not the most speedy winger in the world and [Juan] Mata is also not the most speedy winger in the world.
"So first we must first finish that problem and then we can see how we play and how we are in balance with playing with speedy wingers.''
Van Gaal has also put his faith in Lingard following Memphis Depay's lacklustre start to life at Old Trafford, but despite his pride at fielding youth players, Van Gaal concedes he may still have to enter the transfer market in January.
The Dutchman has plenty of targets, but admits he will struggle to land some of them.
"No, it is dependent,'' Van Gaal said when asked if the emergence of these youngsters would stop him buying new players in January. "It is dependent for instance on the rehabilitation of Luke Shaw -- how long it will last.
"It is also dependent on what I can buy. I want to buy a lot of players but not all the players I want are for sale. So there are a lot of factors in it.''
Lingard has been at United since he was seven years old and Van Gaal was delighted to see a homegrown player make his mark.
"As a manager I am well aware that it is much better to produce players from your own youth education, from your own culture, than to buy players from another culture or country or something like that," he said.
"And I have provided a lot of examples in my managerial career of that. It is not a surprise for my board [of directors] because they know. And Jesse deserved it."
Van Gaal gave 18-year-old Cameron Borthwick-Jackson a debut as a substitute and vowed to carry on picking young players.
The teenage left-back was promoted after Luke Shaw was ruled out for six months with a broken leg.
And the United manager added: "It is the way I lead this club. I don't want a big squad because when you have a big selection it doesn't give any chance to the young players.
"That is why I have sold a lot of players and have a lot out on loan. It means we only have a squad of 21 outfield players and three goalkeepers. So when there are injuries and illnesses I have to look at the youth allocation with my youth coaches Warren Joyce and Paul McGuinness.
"Last time we had [Axel] Tuansebe [on the bench at Crystal Palace] because Phil Jones was ill. Now I have asked [Joyce and McGuinness] for a left full-back because I knew in advance that Marcos Rojo would have problems playing so many matches in a row."
Van Gaal has also advised Roy Hodgson it is far too soon to pick Lingard for England, despite the midfielder's surge to prominence at Manchester United.
Lingard, who has won 11 under-21 caps for his country, scored his first United goal in just his second league start during Saturday's 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
Hodgson selected Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli after only four top-flight starts, but Van Gaal believes Lingard, 22, has to prove himself for longer.
"I would say it is much too early and we have to wait and see to see if he is consistent in his form," Van Gaal said. "So we have to wait and see but I am very happy with his contribution up until now."