• Manager believes midfielder may have been unsettled
• But Fulham made a ‘derisory’ offer for the player

Sam Allardyce has accepted that Ravel Morrison could leave West Ham United this winter, saying that the midfielder may have been unsettled despite a “derisory” transfer offer from Fulham.

Morrison, who joined the Hammers in 2012 from Manchester United, is valued at £10m by the east London club but Fulham’s initial bid, confirmed last week by their manager, René Meulensteen, was rejected.

Meulensteen said the 20-year-old, who is expected to play in Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester City, was keen on a move to Craven Cottage but following his comments West Ham have lodged an official complaint to the Premier League accusing Fulham of tapping up the player.

Under the terms of Morrison’s contract his wage would increase to £60,000 a week if West Ham received an offer of £10m but then decided to keep him at the club while his current salary is approximately one quarter of that amount.

Allardyce said the January window was a time when speculation could turn the heads of players but he refused to rule out the possibility of Morrison leaving. When asked if he was tempted to sell him, Allardyce said: “Well, who knows? You take each day as it comes in this window.

“This window creates a hysteria about the fact that people will tell you that somebody is going to come and get you. That could then turn your head, probably based on the money that people say you’re going to make. Everybody as a human being is not all the same, some players will act and react a different way, to whatever they feel is best for them.

“I would probably think that across the country at every club there is a player unsettled because of mad January, the lunatic transfer window that creates havoc throughout the game.

“He’s a young man, and a young man with not much experience, you have to give a bit of leeway for that scenario. He’s not an experienced man in life, never mind in football. And inexperienced young players can react in many different ways.

“It’s difficult for a manager to give advice to a young player when it comes to that because they see you probably working for the club as the manager rather than working for them.”

When pressed on Fulham’s bid for Morrison, Allardyce added: “That was a simple turn-down of a derisory offer, in our opinion. It’s an offer that wasn’t acceptable.”

West Ham were thwarted in their efforts to sign the defender Johnny Heitinga from Everton earlier in the window, while the Merseyside club are expected to gazump them by signing the striker Lacina Traoré on loan from Monaco, despite the forward having been expected to join the Hammers.

Against City at Upton Park West Ham will seek to salvage some pride after their 6-0 thumping in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium. Allardyce is expected to name a strong side, hoping also to end a five-match losing streak, the latest reverse being the 3-1 home defeat by Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.

• West Ham United
• Sam Allardyce
• Fulham
• Premier League

James Riach

theguardian.com