Would this explosive midfielder be the ideal partner for Carrick at Man United?

Upon selling him Ravel Morrison back in January 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson told Sam Allardyce, the West Ham United manager: “I hope you can sort him out, because if you can he’ll be a genius.” Over a year and a half on, Allardyce has gotten the genius element of Morrison to shine through. He has been in fine form since breaking into the first-team this season, and has three well-taken goals to his name as proof. But Big Sam has been worried about Manchester United coming to take him back, according to the Sky Sports.

“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,” he said. “Look at what happened when Chris Smalling played a handful of games for Fulham – United jumped in with £10million. Then there was Phil Jones when I was at Blackburn – that’s what you are up against.”

But should David Moyes really consider bringing Morrison back home?

Ferguson and former members of his staff like assistant Mike Phelan expressed the view that the player needed to get out of Manchester and start a new life due to bad influences around him in the city. From that standpoint, a move back to Manchester may not be in the player’s best interests, as he may be tempted to return to his former way of life, a way that put his once promising career in serious jeopardy.

As far as his talent is concerned, a player with his vast potential is indeed deserving of the United jersey. Moyes has repeatedly said that the club is always interested in the best players. Morrison has the makings to be one. As he has shown on occasion in his ten appearances so far this season, he has the ability to change games with a moment of sheer brilliance. At the moment, United don’t have enough players with this priceless ability.

Central midfield isn’t his best position long term, but it is proving to be a valuable learning experience for the 20-year-old. Averaging two defensive actions per game thus far, he is learning to help his team out defensively as opposed to focusing solely on the attacking phase of play. He has won 75% of his tackles and has made nine tackles.

When breaking forward he looks at home, in his natural habitat. He is always keen to run into space from his deep position, often popping up in and around the penalty area. His desire and ability to beat opponents using trickery as well as pace helps him get into those advanced positions. These qualities have come in handy with Allardyce relying on his midfielders to provide an attacking threat, given he is lacking striking options. These qualities would see him make a good wide option for Moyes, meanwhile, be it on the left flank or the right.

His passing needs some improvement, however. He isn’t the type of player who is comfortable spraying passes across the field, preferring instead to keep things short, averaging a pass length to date of just 16 metres. Still, he has a pass completion percentage of just 85% and has created a five chances, which isn’t great. The fact that he isn’t in a natural position very likely has something to do with this but, even so, he should learn to be a lot more efficient in his use of possession.

But these things will improve over time as Morrison gains more and more experience and is given the attacking role in which he is most comfortable. He is still very much a raw talent, but one can understand why Allardyce is already afraid of losing him. If he continues to impress, then United would indeed be wise to consider a move to bring him back home.