West Ham outcast Ravel Morrison will join up with Serie A side Lazio in the summer as a free agent after expiration of his contract at Upton Park.
The ex-United midfielder was highly rated as a teenager by many, with Sir Alex Ferguson his most prestigious admirer. However, personal and behavioural problems have halted his progress. After a move to West Ham, he enjoyed a productive period with the Hammers in the first half of last season, before he and Sam Allardyce fell out. A loan to Championship QPR followed for Morrison who seemingly went from zero to hero within the space of a few months. After an unproductive spell at Cardiff City earlier this campaign, he has been somewhat left in the wilderness.
Lazio though, have decided to rescue the youngster from the West Ham reserves, by offering the player a contact in the summer. Di Marzio and Sky Sports have been reporting that the deal is done and if Morrison does move to Serie A, he’ll join a growing list of Englishmen in the Italian top flight. Although he will be hoping to enjoy greater success than Micah Richards and Ashley Cole, who as of yet have struggled in their continental surroundings.
The move bears many similarities to a particular one made in the 90’s. It relates to another highly talented but troubled English midfielder moving to the very same club. One who also had the world at his feet but threatened to blow it all away.
In the summer of 1992, a Geordie lad by the name of Paul Gascoigne finally made a move to Italy from Spurs following a succession of injuries, which had previously halted the proposed deal. On moving to Lazio, he was treated like the saviour of a then struggling side. The man to bring the good times back to the famous club. The Italian public had seen his precocious talent first hand, as he lit up the 1990 World Cup 2 years earlier and he joined the capital based club as one of the world’s best players. However, his time in Rome did not act as a rehabilitative exercise.
Gascoigne endured 3 frustrating years of injuries and off field problems as he eventually fled to Glasgow Rangers in 1995. Despite his transfer not materialising as all associated would have liked, he is still held in high esteem amongst the Lazio fans and is always welcomed warmly on return to the Estadio Olimpico. Morrison doesn’t join with such huge expectation on his shoulders but will hope to enjoy success that the unfortunate Gascoigne wasn’t able to.
He is expected to complete a medical in the coming days before sealing a move in the summer. His agent has been out in Rome for a couple of weeks and the deal is reportedly all but done. Until the end of the season he will just have to manage in the West Ham reserves for now or possibly move out on loan. The former is more likely and a temporary move to Lazio may conceivably be on the cards before a permanent one in the summer. Although at this point that is unlikely. In addition, his current employers won’t receive any compensation as they were not willing to offer the player a new contract. If he starts performing, they might pull off a bargain of enormous proportions.
So can a move to a new country help rehabilitate Morrison? In Italian football professionalism is taken extremely seriously, so if the youngster continues to step out of line, his actions will face a stern punishment. From a playing style point of view, he may be well suited to the league though. The England U21 international is a technically gifted player, with exceptional vision. Serie A may perhaps be more to his pace than the Premier League.
The league has changed a lot since the days of Gascoigne and Morrison is not in the same league as the great man on arrival. They bare many similarities though. Can Lazio succeed where they failed with ‘Gazza’, in transforming the mind set of a trouble star? Alex Ferguson once said; “Get him down there and see if you can get the best out of him, because you’ll have a great player on your hands.” His huge potential is undoubted but attitude wise he needs to improve dramatically. Hopefully this time he can finally begin to fulfil this special talent in the beautiful city of Rome!