Will United come to regret letting this abnormally talented youngster go?

One of the more dramatic stories that player out throughout the January transfer window was that concerning troubled teen Ravel Morrison and his Manchester United future. From the moment Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that United were struggling to agree terms with Morrison, the internet lit up with debate concerning the temperament, commitment and potential of the 18-year-old.

The story was brought to a close as West Ham were able to reach an agreement with Manchester United to bring Ravel to London for £650k, rising to £1m depending on how successful his time with them proves to be. There’s also said to be a buy-back clause written into Morrison’s West Ham contract, but it does seem to me that the youngster has burnt his United bridges.

All this goes to raise these question: Should United have done more to make him feel more at home? Should they have done more to meet his demands at the negotiation table? Have they risked losing a quality young British player because of an unwillingness to deal with what appears to be a troubling temperament?

Morrison’s brushes with the law have been well documented, but it seems it was his attitude when it came to negotiating his United future that proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. After all, why write a buy-back clause into his contract if you’re sick of the sight of him? If it was merely just a case of him asking for too much, how come West Ham were able to come up with a suitable weekly wage for Ravel, whilst United weren’t? Weren’t United willing to give into Rooney’s demands when the striker held them to ransom last year?

Ravel’s story will likely end up one of two ways: Sir Alex Ferguson will either find his decision to sell Morrison vindicated as the youngster fails to fulfill his potential or will be left regretting that he sold him at such a young age, before he went on to do great things. You have to say, despite all his shortcomings, Morrison has a really good chance of proving himself on the football pitch.

More worrying still is the fact that neither Paul Pogba nor Ezekiel Fryers has signed a new contract with the club. The likes of Pogba and Morrison were supposed to be United’s ‘next generation’, but neither now look to have a long-term future with the club. And if United don’t have a fresh batch of young talent coming, through where does that leave them when it comes to planning for the future?

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