Wayne Rooney is giving Ravel Morrison a last chance saloon to potentially prove himself at Championship level - but former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan is not a fan.

After a glittering youth career at Manchester United, Morrison swapped the Red Devils for West Ham United in 2012, with Sir Alex Ferguson stating that the midfielder needed to get away from Manchester to have a fresh start.

Despite showing some promise for the Irons, it never worked out for Morrison and after permanent stints at Lazio, Ostersunds, Sheffield United and ADO Den Haag, Morrison finds himself a free agent once again at the age of 28.

Having played just 12 games in the last two seasons, Morrison's career could be saved for the final time by Rooney, who was at Old Trafford when Ravel was a youth player and has took him on as a trialist for Derby County to see if he has what it takes to fit into his squad.

One man who isn't a fan though is Jordan, and he's gone as far as saying that the Jamaica international will not succeed at Pride Park.

 

 

 

 

 

"I don't think the penny has dropped. If it hasn't dropped at 28, or 26, it's never going to drop," a critical Jordan said on talkSPORT, via the Manchester Evening News.

"He doesn't stay anywhere and, the reason why he doesn't stay anywhere, is because nobody wants him to stay there. So why is this going to be any different?

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but the world is full of incredibly talented footballers that can only leave it on the training ground.

"And this wonderful story of how many times he nut-megged Nemanja Vidic is irrelevant. That's the training ground. Do it on a big stage.

"Clearly, you can't. That's why you've played for 12 clubs and played 98 games in 11 years. That's less than nine games a season. He scores less than one goal a year."

The Verdict

Morrison promised so much in the early days of his career, but after his recent track record it's no surprise to see that some in the sport are not convinced that this latest chapter is going to work.

It was mooted by some in the January transfer window of 2021 when Morrison was released by ADO Den Haag that Rooney could be the one to 'tame' the midfielder if he decided to bring him into the fold, but it never happened and Morrison remained a free agent for the rest of the campaign.

With Derby short of of players under contract this pre-season and also suffering from a transfer embargo, Rooney has had to take a number of free agents in for training with a view to giving them contracts, and if Morrison can prove that he's had a shift in attitude then perhaps this is the last chance that he needs to sort himself out.