Morrison nets Derby deal

After seven months of searching, national midfielder Ravel Morrison finally has a new home for the upcoming season.

Morrison, 28, has signed a one-year deal with English Championship club, Derby County, after being on trial with the club since July. The club made the announcement yesterday as Morrison joined three other free agents, defender Curtis Davies and Richard Stearman, and goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, who each signed a one-year deal.

According to the club’s website, head coach Wayne Rooney was impressed with Morrison’s performances during preseason friendlies against his former club, Manchester United, Salford City and Real Betis, and was keen to make the United academy product a part of the club for the upcoming season.

Rooney made mention of how much Morrison has improved the culture of the team since he first arrived at the club, including his first preseason game against Manchester United.

“I think with Ravel he’s very misunderstood. 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,” Rooney said in a report by English newspaper, The Daily Mail, in July. “That’s where he’s brought the levels up in training.”

It brings to an end a frustrating period for Morrison, as he has been a free agent since January when he left Dutch club ADO Den Haag by mutual consent after completing four months of a one-year deal that was signed in September 2020. He only made five appearances for the club during his stint, the shortest of his well-travelled career. He was on trial at Sheffield Wednesday in April, but was not offered a contract.

It is the 12th club that Morrison has signed for in his career, having had previous stints with West Ham, Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, before spells in Italy, Mexico and Sweden.

Morrison had been originally named to Jamaica’s 2021 final Gold Cup roster. However, issues acquiring a United States visa effectively prevented him from participating in the tournament. Although the successful acquisition of the travel document would have made him available to join the team, Jamaica was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champions, the United States.

The signing comes at a good time for Morrison, with CONCACAF’s final-round World Cup qualifiers set to begin in less than a month’s time.

While Morrison did not make his club debut in yesterday’s season-opener against Huddersfield Town, he could make his first appearance as early as Tuesday, when Derby play Salford City in the first round of the English Football League Cup.

Morrison’s first English Championship appearance for Derby could be on August 14, when they play Peterborough.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com