Friis had spent years working in Danish youth development, including his formative coaching work at FC Midtjylland and with Denmark’s youth national teams, before moving into senior football abroad.
So when he assessed Højlund’s difficult spell at Manchester United, he was not simply looking at the numbers.
He was looking at a young Danish striker he believed still had the qualities to become a top-level player.
“I think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Friis told Football Presse.
More than a year later, Højlund’s career has provided a compelling test of that judgement.
The 23-year-old has left Manchester United permanently and is now preparing for another season at Napoli after a successful loan campaign in Italy.
Napoli made the transfer permanent in June after Højlund scored 16 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions, helping the club win the Supercoppa Italiana and finish second in Serie A. The deal was worth €50 million, including the initial loan fee.
The contrast with Manchester United is stark.
Højlund joined United from Atalanta in 2023 for a reported €83 million and finished his two seasons at Old Trafford with 26 goals in 95 appearances.
His first campaign produced 16 goals, but that total fell to 10 in 52 appearances in his second season as United struggled badly.
For Friis, the problem was never simply the striker.
“It was a club which didn’t work,” he said. “It looked like everybody was battling and fighting with their own things.”
That distinction matters.
Friis had seen enough young players develop to understand that individual talent can be badly affected by the environment around it.
And Højlund was being asked to establish himself at one of the biggest clubs in world football while the team itself was struggling for consistency.
“When Højlund went to Napoli, he came to a club, to a country where it was totally different,” Friis said.
There was also a fundamental change in what was happening around him.
“The service he got from the teammates around him was different.”
That proved to be one of the most significant differences.
At Napoli, Højlund returned to a country where he had already made his name with Atalanta, scoring 10 goals in his only season in Bergamo before United signed him.
He was therefore not entering an entirely unfamiliar football culture. He was returning to one in which he had already demonstrated that he could succeed.
And, according to Friis, the player himself had never disappeared.
“He’s a good player and he’s a fighter,” he said. “He’s a natural goalscorer. He’s a really good striker.”
Those words are particularly revealing when placed against the criticism Højlund received during his final months in England.
Friis did not suggest the Dane was beyond criticism. Rather, he believed the circumstances were making it difficult to see the best of him.
“He needs to play, and he needs to play at a high level,” he said.
That is exactly what Napoli gave him.
Højlund scored on his debut against Fiorentina in September 2025 and steadily established himself as an important part of Antonio Conte’s side.
By the end of the campaign he had scored 16 goals, helping Napoli win the Supercoppa Italiana and finish runners-up in Serie A. Champions League qualification then triggered the obligation that made his transfer permanent.
The move was completed on June 3.
Manchester United's two-year experiment was over.
Napoli had decided that Højlund was worth keeping.
For Friis, that outcome fits a coaching philosophy formed in Danish youth football. One of his strongest beliefs is that clubs have to create the right circumstances for young players rather than simply demanding that they perform.
That was something he learned at Brentford, where he worked on the transition between the B team and first-team football.
“You need to create situations where it’s possible to get to the first team,” he explained.
His argument was that development cannot be separated from the structure around the player. At Brentford, a relatively small senior squad meant that injuries could create genuine opportunities for B-team players.
“If you miss another player, let’s say a defender, the next natural step will be to take up a B-team player.”
It was a system designed to make the pathway real.
Friis applied the same thinking when discussing individual players.
“One of the most important things is to get close to them, to get under their skin, to understand how they think and to understand their background.
“I’m not talking about being best friends.
“I’m talking about being totally honest outside football as well.”
For a young player, the distinction can be critical.
Friis recalled situations where a player might arrive at training distracted because of something happening away from football. The coach can spend the session demanding better concentration, a better pass or a better first touch.
But if the underlying problem is personal, the coach may be addressing the wrong issue.
“I’m just talking about understanding his situation when he’s not performing,” Friis said.
That is perhaps the most revealing part of his Højlund assessment. Friis was not looking for an excuse. He was looking for an explanation.
And his experience in Danish football had taught him that development rarely happens in isolation.
The player, the team, the coach and the environment all matter.
At Brentford, he also learned to combine that human understanding with objective measurement. He worked with analysts to assess individual development and even used a traffic-light system to measure aspects of performance.
Green meant a good action. Yellow meant it could have gone either way. Red identified an area that needed improvement.
“You need to find ways to measure what they need to become better at,” he said.
That approach is important because Friis has never viewed data and coaching as opposing forces.
For him, the numbers are there to help explain what the eyes are seeing.
“Football is feelings,” he said.
“But if you make a lot of decisions based on feelings, it’s not many times you’re right.”
The same principle can be applied to Højlund. His Manchester United numbers were real. So were his weaknesses.
But so were the circumstances around him. Napoli did not suddenly turn him into a different footballer. They gave him an environment in which his existing qualities could become more visible.
The result was a player who finished the season with 16 goals, won a medal with Napoli, helped them secure Champions League football and earned a permanent transfer.
For Friis, the story is ultimately bigger than Højlund.
It is about how football judges young players.
A striker can arrive at a huge club, struggle to score consistently and quickly become labelled a failure. But sometimes the better question is whether the environment is helping the player succeed.
Friis had seen Højlund’s generation develop in Danish football.
He knew the qualities were there.
When Manchester United’s environment failed to bring them out consistently, his diagnosis was simple.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Napoli has now given Højlund the chance to prove what Friis believed all along: the player had not disappeared.
He had simply needed the right place.