Should Manchester United even consider re-signing Ravel Morrison?

This week West Ham boss Sam Allardyce admitted that he is scared that Manchester United may return for their former player Ravel Morrison. The England Under-21 international has been a shining light in a struggling West Ham side so far this season and the youngster showed his undoubted ability with a superbly taken goal in the Hammers 3-0 win over Tottenham.

“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,” Allardyce is quoted as saying in The Mirror.

The 20-year-old joined West Ham in January 2012 for a fee of around £650,000 after a troubled time in Manchester. Allardyce has since revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson warned him about Morrison when the two clubs eventually agreed a fee for the talented youngster, with the former United boss saying of the midfielder: “a brilliant footballer, brilliant ability, top class ability, needs to get away from Manchester and start a new life”.

Morrison, or Ravel, as he now has on the back of his shirt, has made six appearances for the Hammers so far this season and has a performance score of 44. His appearance against Spurs was the first time the 20-year-old had appeared on the winning side this season.

So how do the mercurial-but-troubled midfielder compare to the current group of Manchester United midfielders?

Morrison’s Performance Score is currently better than United’s big summer signing Marouane Fellaini, the Belgian international has a current score of 31 from his first three games.

Morrison’s duels for West Ham this season

In terms of average duels won, Fellani just edges it with 57%, while Morrison has won 56% of his duels. Despite his attacking and dribbling abilities, Morrison doesn’t shirk the less glamorous side of the game, winning five of his six attempted tackles so far.

The pair both have a shot accuracy of 40% but only Morrison has scored so far this season, his two goal tally makes him West Ham’s current top-scorer.

Morrison has created three chances for his team-mates during his six appearances, in contrast Michael Carrick has created nine opportunities, while Tom Cleverley has fashioned five chances.

Morrison has created only three chances for the Irons this season

Both Carrick and Cleverley have superior passing accuracy than Morrison, the Hammers midfielder has completed 79% of his passes whereas the United duo have found a team-mate with 90% of their passes.

While Morrison’s stats may not look all that impressive when comparing them to the current crop of Manchester United midfielder’s, it is fair to say that the quality of the two teams is a contributing factor.

Against Spurs, Morrison demonstrated the raw ability that led to him being so highly rated at Old Trafford, if he keeps that up it won’t only be his former employers who’ll be interested in this rough-diamond.