Forgotten talent Wayne Rooney said was miles ‘better’ than Paul Pogba now desperate for Championship move

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The summer transfer window has been open for seven days, and several Championship clubs are already getting some business done.

Norwich City announced the signing of Jacob Wright from Manchester City after watching him flourish on loan.

Championship newcomers Birmingham City also confirmed the capture of Phil Neumann, although his move to St Andrews was agreed in the January transfer window.

Meanwhile, Preston North End have been the busiest second-tier club so far, having already announced four new signings, including Daniel Iversen, Pol Valentin, Thierry Small and Jordan Thompson.

With transfers happening left, right and centre, one former EFL star is hoping a Championship take a gamble on him this summer.

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Former Birmingham City player Ravel Morrison is desperate for a Championship move

When looking back on the careers of many footballers to have played in the EFL, Ravel Morrison is someone who has never lived up to his potential.

The Manchester United academy graduate has played for eight different clubs in English football, but has never truly found a home and instead let his attitude impact his ability.

To put things into perspective, the most games the attacking midfielder has played for any club is 38, and that was during a spell with Derby County in 2021/22.

Now aged 32, and currently playing football with Precision FC in the third tier of the UAE, Morrison has dreams of returning to England and playing in the Championship.

However, despite his agent speaking to numerous clubs, no one is willing to take a gamble on someone with a chequered past and that has frustrated him.

“I do believe I can play in the Championship — easy,” Morrison said in an interview with The Athletic. “The frustrating thing is I’m not getting the opportunity.

“My agent has spoken to a lot of sporting directors, chief scouts and heads of recruitment, and we’ve got really close (to an agreement). Then they get the manager’s opinion and it becomes, ‘Ah, but he’s done this, he’s done that’, and they are speaking about things that happened when I was a kid. Time has moved on, it’s over a decade ago. But it’s crazy sometimes how people don’t move on.”

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Wayne Rooney once said Ravel Morrison was ‘better’ than Paul Pogba

Morrison came through the Manchester United academy at the same time as the likes of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba, two players who reached stardom at Old Trafford.

Pogba, of course, was sold to Juventus in 2012 and then returned in 2016 for what was a club-record fee at the time.

Lingard, meanwhile, made 232 appearances for United’s first team before leaving in 2022 to join Nottingham Forest.

While both players have enjoyed better careers than their former teammate, despite experiencing problems themselves, Man United legend Wayne Rooney said Morrison was ‘better’ than Pogba and Lingard.

“I remember watching Ravel Morrison thinking he had everything required for a player in his position,” Rooney wrote in his Sunday Times column in 2020.

“He nutmegged Nemanja Vidic three times in the space of a minute in one training game.

“But he struggled with lifestyle and his environment which was sad for him — because I saw Paul Pogba come through, Jesse Lingard, all these players and Ravel was better than any of them by a country mile.

Morrison is sadly just one of many players who have all the skill and ability in the world, but don’t have the correct attitude to play at the highest level.