Skip to main content

Wayne Rooney explains impact of former Manchester United teammate Ravel Morrison at Derby

Man United played Derby in pre-season on Sunday and a former youth star from the club's academy featured in the form of Ravel Morrison.

Jesse Lingard was reunited with Ravel Morrison(Image: 2021 Getty Images)

Derby manager Wayne Rooney thinks former Manchester United youth star Ravel Morrison is 'misunderstood'.


Morrison was one of the country's most exciting players when he emerged through United's academy ranks and he starred in the Reds' 2011 FA Youth Cup winning campaign ahead of names such as Sam Johnstone, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba.


After discipline issues eventually undermined his talent, though, United reluctantly let Morrison go in 2012 and since then he's played for an array of clubs around the world, most recently playing for ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie after his Middlesbrough loan.


The 28-year-old is now on trial at Rooney's Derby in the Championship and he played against United at Pride Park on Sunday afternoon as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side began their pre-season schedule, and Rooney was clearly impressed with the audition.


"I think with Ravel, he's very misunderstood," Rooney said in the post-match press conference. "His ability is clear for everyone to see. Since he's been with us, the standards in training have gone up. There's 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."

Do you want an exclusive pre-season United preview - both in your inbox and through your letterbox? Head over here to find out more and secure your copy.

Article continues below
READ MORE: Wayne Rooney gives verdict on Jadon Sancho ahead of Manchester United transferREAD MORE: Manchester United confirm return dates for Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek
Follow Manchester Evening News:



Manchester United FCRavel MorrisonWayne Rooney
reach logo

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the saleor sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Privacy Notice.