Wayne Rooney has hailed Ravel Morrison’s immediate impact at Derby County and insists the former Manchester United academy star has been ‘misunderstood’ for much of his career.
This comes after scathing criticism from former Crystal Palace owner turned talkSPORT mouthpiece Simon Jordan.
Morrison’s career to date was criticised heavily by Jordan, who said (as quoted by the Daily Star): “I don’t think the penny has dropped; if it hasn’t dropped at 26, or 28, it’s never going to drop.”
But the mercurial attacking midfielder has shown glimpses of his talent for over a decade, despite not being able to tie down a home for an extended period. Morrison has even played in Mexico, but that spell didn’t last very long either.
We hope at Derby he can settle down and with Rooney, who seen him come through as a troublesome youngster, there’s a real possibility he could have a good season in the Championship.
Morrison featured in Derby’s 2-1 friendly defeat against United on Sunday.
After the match, Rooney jumped to Morrison’s defence for hitting the ground running and lifting everyone’s levels at the club.
“I think with Ravel, he is very misunderstood,” he said (via Metro). “His ability is clear for everyone to see.
“Since he’s been with us, the standards in training have gone up. There are things he does on and off the ball that I can recognise immediately. That’s where he’s brought the levels up in training.
“He showed some nice touches on the pitch against United but we need to remember he hasn’t played for a very, very long time. So it was natural that physically he was going to tire.”
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