Marcus Rashford has sent a message to JJ Gabriel after the teenager became the youngest player to play for Manchester United’s under-18s side this week.
Manchester United’s youth side provided the perfect response to being knocked out of the FA Youth Cup with a staggering 13-1 win over Leeds under-18s on Saturday afternoon.
It was an incredible start to the game which saw Adam Lawrence’s side 9-0 up at half-time and soon afterwards JJ Gabriel was brought on for his debut.
The 14-year-old became the youngest player to appear for the club’s under-18s side and then also became the youngest goalscorer for United at that level.
In the final minutes of the game, Gabriel scored twice in quick succession to secure United’s 12th and 13th goals. His second was impressive, with the youngster plucking the ball out of the sky, dribbling past one and slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
Rashford sends message to record-breaking JJ Gabriel
Gabriel is one of the most highly-rated players in the Academy setup at Old Trafford and that’s exactly why so many were paying close attention to his debut at under-18s level.
He has a lot of interest from clubs all around Europe and United are trying their best to convince him that he should stay put.
Reacting to his record-breaking debut, Gabriel posted on Instagram: “U18 debut at U14 ☑️ 2 goals on debut ☑️”
Marcus Rashford was quick to respond to the teenager with a supportive message. In the comments, he wrote: “Future star 💫”.
When Rashford’s loan move to Aston Villa was announced in January, Gabriel thanked him for taking the time to practice penalties with him at Carrington.
The 27-year-old was also in attendance at Villa Park for United’s FA Youth Cup penalty defeat against the Villains last week.
United have some exciting youth talent
United have a solid crop of exciting talent coming through their ranks and Ruben Amorim will be hoping to have more come through the setup into the first-team.
He has given first-team debuts to Chido Obi and Harry Amass so far while some others have managed to make the bench like Jack Fletcher and Sekou Kone.
Bendito Mantato is another youngster Amorim is reportedly planning to give a debut to before the end of the season.
United fans will be eager to see who steps up to the challenge in the coming years and become regular players in the first-team.
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