'What a player': BR wants 'Brazilian' £19m Man Utd outcast with 'frightening' skill

Earlier this season, West Ham attacker Ravel Morrison scored a superb solo goal against Spurs last week, which seemed to be the perfect platform upon which to build his career at Upton Park. Hoofball merchant Sam Allardyce had other ideas, however, and farmed Morrison out on loan to QPR, where his form has reportedly attracted the attention of Brendan Rodgers.

According to The Telegraph today:

"Interest in [Ravel Morrison] from home and abroad is growing. Manchester City and Liverpool have watched his performances".

The link seems to make sense, especially considering the fact that Rodgers is a huge fan of Morrison. In a press conference in October, he told reporters:

""We've got fantastic talent here [in England] - look at the young boy [Ravel] Morrison. What a mover. If you were to come away after watching him for the first time you would probably guess he was Spanish or Brazilian"

High praise indeed for the ex-Man United youngster. Rodgers is not the only one hyping up Morrison. In October, Hammers captain Kevin Nolan enthused:

"We are excited about his talent because it's frightening, but it's about nurturing him now."

And former Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole (ugh - it just sounds wrong saying that!) believes that Morrison can force himself into England's world cup squad. He told the BBC:

"He can go on and achieve massive things in the game. He's a top lad as well. He wants to learn and that's the main thing. He's on a good run of form and he just wants to keep his head down and keep going."

When Morrison left Man Utd, Alex Ferguson hailed him as a 'brilliant footballer with Brilliant ability' but conceded that he he 'needs to get away from Manchester and start a new life'.

Morrison - who now has a £19m buyout clause in his contract - ended up at Birmingham City on loan, where he worked with Liverpool legend Terry McDermott, who described the youngster as a 'rough diamond' with 'absolutely no malice in him at all', and revealed how he tried his best to steer Morrison onto the straight and narrow:

“I developed a soft spot for him. I told him that he could do things on the football field that I had hardly seen throughout my entire career, even in my days at Liverpool. I explained to him what he was in danger of missing out on. Hopefully, we turned him in the right direction and now he is doing all he wants to do – which is play football".

Prior to his QPR loan, Morrison grabbed a creditable 5 goals/2 assists 15 starts for West Ham, and his record at Loftus Road so far shows that he's capable of doing the business. Harry Redknapp is certainly impressed, and earlier this month, he raved:

"What a player he is. I've followed his career from when he was a 12-year-old and what Sir Alex told me. For whatever reason he's been let go, but we're glad we've got him. He's a real talent"

A viable target for Liverpool this summer?

Author: Jaimie K