According to Jamie Carragher, a failing Manchester United player is exhibiting traits identical to those of Darwin Núñez, who spent his first season at Liverpool.

Jamie Carragher has made a comparison between Darwin Núñez of Liverpool and Rasmus Højlund, a striker for Manchester United. Højlund, who paid a high price to join United from Atalanta, has had difficulty adjusting to life in England, managing just three goals in his first 13 games as a player. Højlund may not have many goals, but Carragher thinks his performances have potential.

A primary factor behind Højlund’s difficulties is the deficiency of significant opportunities generated for him by his colleagues. Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, and Marcus Rashford haven’t given the Danish striker enough assistance.

Carragher thinks Højlund’s play has been impacted by the pressure on other United players, such as Bruno Fernandes and Rashford, to score goals. Carragher compares Núñez’s rookie season at Liverpool to Højlund’s circumstances.

Núñez, who came to the Reds from Benfica, had a difficult debut campaign despite scoring 15 goals in all competitions, nine of which came in the Premier League. In just 15 games this season, Núñez has already scored seven goals.

“I think a clear problem as well is because Manchester United are struggling and Rashford hasn’t scored too many, or Fernandes, they’re desperate to sort of score goals, so they’ve got that mindset,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football (MNF). “They have got that mindset going into games, so that is not helping him [Højlund].

“It is a little bit similar to Núñez last season. There are certainly things there that you like, and they certainly look promising. It is just whether he can kick into gear and end up getting them goals.”

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge underlined the value of camaraderie and mutual understanding among teammates during a conversation on MNF. According to Sturridge, Højlund will have more opportunities to succeed if he and his teammates have a firm grasp of one another’s playing preferences and styles.

Currently, though, it appears that Højlund is not getting enough opportunities and is finding it difficult to have an influence on the field. Sturridge said Højlund will have more opportunities to show off his skills if the team’s cohesion improves.