Rio Ferdinand believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the cause of Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring woes... but insists 'he'll come out of this'

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Rio Ferdinand has labelled Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return to fitness for Manchester United as the source of Romelu Lukaku's recent goal drought.

The Belgian striker has now scored just one in his last 11 for Jose Mourinho's side after failing to find the net during their 4-2 win over Watford on Tuesday night.

Lukaku had originally made a blistering start to life at Old Trafford, scoring 11 in his first 10 – backing up his lucrative £75million transfer fee – but has since seen his form deteriorate. An issue Ferdinand took little time get to the bottom of in his post-match analysis.

Rio Ferdinand has given his opinion on the source of Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring problems

Romelu Lukaku's woes in front of goal continued after he struggled against Watford

Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand insisted having the presence of Ibrahimovic lying in wait on the subs bench will have heaped pressure onto the shoulders of Lukaku.

'He'll come out of this,' Ferdinand said of Lukaku's goalscoring woes. 'I think that maybe the bigger problem for him is Zlatan Ibrahimovic being there.

'Mentally, having a big striker behind you who wants to play, that's a pressure (coming) from within, and sometimes people find that hard to deal with.'

The Manchester United striker missed a dream chance to end his ever-growing baron run of goalless games, which was later described by manager Jose Mourinho as an 'open goal'

Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand claimed Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return is hindering Lukaku

While Ashley Young stole the plaudits at Vicarage Road with a trademark free kick, followed by a strike from outside the box, Lukaku squandered a golden opportunity to break his duck, as he missed what was described as an 'open goal' by his manager.

'The second half should be 5 or 6 nil,' Mourinho said of the result. 'It was even easier to score goals than in first. But we missed chances and this is football.

'Lukaku had that one with the open goal, and Paul had a free header.'

The Belgian is expected to put an end to his torturous run, but when is anybody's guess, as Lukaku's nightmare spell in front of goal continues.

But also insisted that the Belgian will return to his early United form that saw him score 10 in 11