KINGSTON, Jamaica— Describing Ravel Morrison as “my type of player”, Jamaica’s head coach Steve McClaren has left the door wide open for the return of the midfielder to the Reggae Boyz set up.

Morrison, who last played for Jamaica in March 2023, recently signed for the newly formed UAE Second Division League club Precision. McClaren, who said he knows the former Manchester United starlet “very well”, said the coaching staff will be keeping an eye on him to track his progress.

“I know he’s finally back playing, he’s had four games, his first four games for 18 months, so he’s had no rhythm, no momentum not training,” McClaren said, “But now he’s training, he’s playing in Dubai, he’s had four games and scoring, assisting.”

Speaking at virtual press conference to announce the team for the Nations League quarterfinal against the United States, McClaren gushed about the player who many Reggae Boyz supporters feel is the missing link in the midfield.

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“Ravel is someone I know well, my type of player, love that type of player,” McClaren said, but added that he never considered Morrison for the team so soon, “I never thought the first three camps that he would be involved, but we’ll certainly, after this camp, we will be picking him up over the next couple of months and seeing how he’s playing, so the door is never closed on anybody… and definitely not Ravel.”

McClaren, who was part of the Manchester United coaching staff under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson and the recently fired Erik Ten Hagg, added: “Ravel Morrison, and I say all his career, we have been saying this about him all his career, from when he was a young boy, he has more ability than anybody I know.

“Because I’ve worked with him and I’ve seen him training, I’ve seen him playing, and when he’s top, he is top, and hopefully now he’s playing games he can get back to the level where Ravel Morrison can achieve, and if he does that, he’ll be a real asset,” McClaren said.

Morrison, who was part of one of the best class of youth players at Manchester United, playing alongside the likes of Paul Pogba, was given his debut for Jamaica by then coach Theodore Whitmore in November 2020 and played 18 times, the last appearance was in the 2-2 draw against Mexico in a Nation League game on March 15 2023.

-Paul A Reid