Sunderland have been linked with Derby County midfielder Ravel Morrison who is out on contract at the end of the month. The 29-year-old enjoyed a strong campaign last season with the Rams despite their relegation, scoring four goals and registering four assists in 36 Championship appearances.
Once heralded as English football's next big talent during his time at Manchester United, Morrison's career has not reached the heights that were expected of him. While Morrison has played in Sweden, Mexico, Holland and Italy in recent years, he has failed to find a permanent long-term club since his departure from West Ham United back in 2015, which saw the Hammers terminate his contract.
Morrison's time at West Ham saw him coincide with former Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce, who signed the midfielder from Manchester United in 2012. His quality during the early years of his career were never in doubt, but Morrison could never seem to put together the work ethic to go alongside his precocious talent.
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"Certainly, we had early problems with him and his self-discipline and self-organisation," Allardyce told the Daily Mail back in 2013. "He just wasn't functioning properly. He was always late, his diet was bad
"There was a time when I wondered if maybe it wouldn't work, that I couldn't do it with him. The problem was that he thought he was coming here to play in the first team. Then he wasn't in the team and he wasn't interested. Players like Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble actually told him, 'You have no chance'. He didn't take it well. He had been told so many times that he was so good that he thought he could breeze it.
"Really gifted young players can lack the desire, edge and dedication and that was Rav. It's a player's brain that makes him a top player. So we got him a loan at Birmingham and they had the same problem until they had injuries and he got in the team and stayed in."
However, things soon soured between the two, with West Ham and Allardyce eventually terminating Morrison's contract. Try as he might, Allardyce and Morrison did not see eye to eye. “It was a real struggle and a real challenge to be honest," Allardyce told talkSPORT in 2020.
“I think the long and short of it was, as hard as we tried to control him he needed deeper and more psychological help than we could ever possibly give him if he was to able to control his focus and concentration. Ravel was unfortunately left with a disorder which would mean he would forget almost immediately after he left the training ground what he was supposed to do the next day.
“We tried to get him the help he needed, but unfortunately he didn’t want the help and that was the big problem.”
Under Wayne Rooney last season, Morrison got regular game time as Derby tried to escape the clutches of relegation. It was the first time in his senior career the midfielder had gotten regular, week-in, week-out game time. He might not be able to reach the heights that were expected of him, but there's every reason to suggest Morrison might now be ready to put his talents to full use in the Championship next season.
Sunderland could certainly do worse than take a look at Morrison who could prove to be a really shrewd signing for the Black Cats.
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