Manchester United have promoted 14-year-old wonderkid JJ Gabriel to the club’s under-18s side but are still being warned by rivals about the battle to keep him at Old Trafford.
There are plenty of talented players within Manchester United’s academy setup and JJ Gabriel is one of the latest to grab some headlines.
Gabriel is just 14 years of age but is known to be one of the most exciting prospects within the club. When he was younger, Gabriel appeared on a YouTube video showcasing his skills and received the nickname ‘Kid Messi‘.
United have recognised the immense talent of Gabriel and given him experience with the Under-18s. Last term, he trained with Adam Lawrence’s side in the warm-up before their Premier League Cup final win over Manchester City.
The young teenager, who plays off the left-wing, has recently been promoted to the Under-18s, making his debut last month in a blockbuster 13-1 win over Leeds.
He became the youngest player to appear for the club at that age-level and, soon afterwards, he became the youngest goalscorer for the club at that level. After he finished smartly to score the 12th in the 90th minute, Gabriel netted another 60 seconds later.
After being an unused substitute in a 4-4 draw against Everton U18s, Gabriel made his second appearance for Lawrence’s side against Stoke on Friday night. He created one goal and scored another, which has only generated more attention surrounding his name.
Rival scout sends warning to United over JJ Gabriel
Gabriel is a superb talent and that means that other clubs are already sniffing around the youngster. There have been some uncertainties flying around about whether he will stay at Old Trafford but it is clear the club are doing their best to show him that he’s best off staying.
Still, some reports have linked the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid to the player, while other Premier League clubs are also keen on snatching the youngster from United’s academy.
Even rival scouts have been letting United know that others are waiting in the wings to make a move, and the club are aware of the battle they have on their hands to keep Gabriel at Carrington.
According to a recent report from MailSport, one rival scout has said: “United is a big club, a huge club, and it fits JJ’s profile and JJ fits United’s profile, he’s something they haven’t got at all.
“But United have to be careful they don’t get things wrong with him, too. They know they are in a fight to keep him.”
United focused on bringing young talent through
United are not at their best level in the first-team right now but that doesn’t really matter as much when convincing young talents to join or stay at the club.
The project being communicated, and their potential role going forward is what matters most and United are going to be speaking about that a lot, with much of their recruitment going forward being focused around young talents.
Gabriel, at just 14 years of age, seems to be in a similar boat and the conversations the club will be having with him in the future will be all around how they can bring him into the first-team, and there’s plenty of existing proof over the years.
But, for now, there shouldn’t be too much pressure placed on Gabriel’s shoulders as he is a very young kid, and United have plenty of other talented youngsters on the verge of breaking into the first-team squad.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.