West Ham manager Sam Allardyce believes that Ravel Morrison is thriving at Upton Park.

The youngster moved to East London from Manchester United last year after developing a reputation as a troublesome influence, and has eased into the Hammers’ first-team with a string of impressive displays.

Morrison is set to face his former club this weekend, with the Irons keen to condemn David Moyes’ Red Devils to a third straight league defeat.

Allardyce believes that the 20-year-old has been a huge hit for his side and that giving him a chance to prove himself has been key in his transformation:

“There was a few bigger clubs than ours that were mooted to want him,” he is quoted by the Daily Star.

“But that would have been a mistake had he gone to those sort of clubs, because that might have ended up with him having the same problems that he had at Manchester United.

“His football is his all, it’s all he wants to be and all he wants to do, but he wants first-team football. That’s his mentality.

“If he’s not playing first-team football, he wouldn’t be happy wherever he is, whether it be here or Manchester.”

Morrison has been making an impact in England’s U-21 side of late, with some suggesting that if he maintains his current level of performance he could force his way into the senior side ahead of the World Cup.

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