West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has admitted fears that Manchester United could resign former youth star Ravel Morrison after selling him to the London club last January.
United allowed Morrison to join West Ham for £650k after fears for his future due to off field problems, but the move didn’t seem to be having the desired effect. A loan move to Birmingham was the making of the 20 year old though, and a season under Lee Clarke in the Championship saw him flourish.
Impressing for his parent club during pre season, Allardyce gave Morrison a chance in the first team this season and he has grabbed it with both hands, showing the promise that had people behind the scenes at Old Trafford so excited.
His good performances saw him rewarded with a call up to Gareth Southgate’s England u21 squad, but have also alerted the rest of the league, Manchester United included, to his new lease on life and Allardyce fears that his former club may come knocking now he appears to have sorted himself out:
“I don’t know if there is a buy-back clause and what that figure might be if it even exists but my real big worry is that Manchester United will come back to buy him.
“Look at what happened when Chris Smalling played a handful of games for Fulham – United jumped in with £10 million.
“Then there was Phil Jones when I was at Blackburn – that’s what you are up against.”
United’s decision to sell Morrison to West Ham was one taken with the player’s best interests at heart, as the club felt it would be best to get him out of Manchester and away from the negative off field influences that saw him getting into trouble, so a move back may not be the wisest decision.
But he appears to have matured, with his West Ham team mates lauding his new approach to his career, so with him playing so well perhaps United may exercise a buy back clause if one was included in the deal that saw him head to London initially.
