By Chris Wright

We’ve heard it said before that people would rather have teeth pulled than spend a year in Birmingham (joking… some of my best friends are Brummies… honest), but Ravel Morrison has taken the whole thing a little too literally – joining Birmingham City on a season-long loan from West Ham and having seven teeth pulled in order to do so.

Apparently, Birmingham asked Morrison to undergo the treatment in order for him to be able to pass his medical at St. Andrews and complete his loan switch as his orthodontic situation was worryingly bad – which could be complete cobblers, though that said, his gnashers do have a distinct air of the ‘Tevez’ about them…

After complaining of severe toothache from the moment they arrived, former Manchester United brat Morrison (who made but three appearances for the Hammers last season) was sent home from West Ham’s pre-season tour of Germany in order to undergo £28,000’s worth of dental work – including having seven of his grotty teeth removed and replaced with temporary moulds while expensive new implants are made to order.

In-keeping with said brattish reputation, there are also reports that, despite only being there for three days, Morrison threw a wobbly in Germany and refused to drink anything other than ‘official West Ham brand bottled water’ while staying at the team’s hotel.

Doesn’t he just sound like a ray of sunshine?