West Ham transfer news: We want to keep Ravel Morrison, says Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce wants to keep Ravel Morrison at West Ham this summer despite speculation linking the midfielder with a move away.

Morrison went through a purple patch of form at Upton Park last season but lost his rhythm and found his first-team chances limited, eventually going out on loan to QPR.

But Allardyce, who was reportedly looking to offload Morrison, believes the 21-year-old could excel after undergoing surgery on a long-standing injury problem. But the 59-year-old is slightly concerned the club won't be able to satisfy Morrison's wage demands.

"He's contracted to West Ham," the manager told reporters.

"I think he's had a hernia op. Once that's healed up I hope he becomes a better player because he has been playing with it for a while. The groins have been causing him a problem for a while.

"If you've got pain, I don't think you perform to your best. Hopefully that pain will have ended and he'll be a much freer, more active player for us. If he could do what he did last season, that would be great because, when he broke in to the side early last year, he had a great spell. Unfortunately he couldn't sustain it.

"If he continues to do what he did last season then yes [we want to keep him] but that does depend on how much players want, how much they demand. If that demand is far too great then that becomes a difficulty for us."

West Ham, who are on tour in the southern hemisphere, get their Premier League campaign up and running against Tottenham on August 16.