Football
Mark Ogden, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 7y

Ravel Morrison must seal Wigan loan by Jan. 27 to face Man United

Ravel Morrison has until the end of next week to earn the chance to face former club Manchester United by securing a loan move to Wigan Athletic from Lazio.

Morrison, 23, is currently training with Championship club Wigan after being told he has no future with Lazio.

Wigan manager Warren Joyce, previously Morrison's reserve team boss at United, has given the midfielder the opportunity to resurrect his career at the DW Stadium following his failure to make an impact in Serie A.

The former United youngster, who played alongside Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard during the club's successful FA Youth Cup campaign in 2011, has not kicked a ball for Lazio since making a seven-minute substitute appearance against Sampdoria in April 2016.

But with Wigan due to face United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round on Jan. 29, Morrison could force his way into the Latics' squad for clash against Jose Mourinho's team if he does enough to convince Joyce of his fitness and form ahead of next Friday's deadline for registration for the tie.

Sources at the Football Association have confirmed to ESPN FC that Wigan must register Morrison by midday on Jan. 27 for him to be eligible to face United.

The Manchester-born Morrison was regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in English football during his formative years at United, but a series of off-field issues prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to sell him to West Ham for an undisclosed fee in January 2012.

Morrison made a brief impact at Upton Park before being loaned to Birmingham, QPR and Cardiff City in failed attempts to kick-start his career.

Lazio has also proven to be an unsuccessful move for the former England under-21 player but, speaking to reporters last week, Wigan manager Joyce insisted that Morrison, who has been training with the club for two weeks, still has the ability to make something of his career.

"He's worked hard and his attitude has been good," Joyce said. "But he's been inactive really for a very long time, which obviously we knew.

"It's just assessing now how long or how short the period of time will be to get him anywhere near what he used to be like. That's an ongoing situation.

"I can't fault his attitude, but if you're not training and playing hard, you're not battle-hardened. It's not a quick fix."

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