After all the fuss leading up to it, the final transfer deadline day of 2017 passed by without too much in the way of drama.
Big moves for Alexis Sanchez, Philippe Coutinho, Thomas Lemar and Virgil van Dijk failed to materialise, with Kylian Mbappé’s switch from Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain the most significant deal of the day by a considerable distance.
Although it may have failed to provide the levels of excitement that many had expected it to, the day did (as is always the case) throw up the odd unexpected deal. Although the one which saw Ravel Morrison move to Mexico had been reported in the days leading up to Deadline Day, its confirmation in the small hours of Friday morning was still met with surprise by some of those that remembered the player’s time in England.
Morrison was part of the same 2011 Youth Cup-winning side at Manchester United as Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard and was, according to many, its star player. “Paul Pogba used to look up to him,” Rio Ferdinand said in a recent interview.
Despite also being highly regarded by Sir Alex Ferguson, a turbulent few years at United saw him eventually leave – joining West Ham in 2012. Despite an impressive solo goal for the club in a Premier League win at Spurs, Morrison failed to settle at Upton Park. Loan moves to Birmingham, QPR and Cardiff followed before he eventually moved to Lazio in 2014.
Now 24, the Wythenshawe-born player has failed to resurrect his career in Italy. A move away seemed inevitable and, sure enough, has now been confirmed.
A series of tweets from Liga MX side, Atlas, confirmed that Morrison had agreed to join the club on a one-year loan deal.
Proveniente del @OfficialSSLazio, hacemos oficial la llegada de @morrisonravel a los Rojinegros 🔴⚫️#WelcomeRavel pic.twitter.com/CewdEzGWDB
— Atlas FC (@AtlasFC) August 31, 2017
Morrison had been expected to re-join Birmingham earlier in the summer but will, for the next year at least, be plying his trade in Guadalajara.
El nuevo Rojinegro, @morrisonravel, estampó su firma en el contrato que lo une a los Zorros en calidad de préstamo por 1 año#WelcomeRavel pic.twitter.com/61Zagg9Bwe
— Atlas FC (@AtlasFC) August 31, 2017
