JJ Gabriel has made headlines at Manchester United and the 15-year-old continues to impress Michael Carrick and the rest of the club hierarchy.
Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel continues to impress the club’s management.(Image: (Photo Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images))
Manchester United are reported to be “in complete shock” at the exceptional ability of JJ Gabriel as he continues his extraordinary rise to Michael Carrick’s first team. The 15-year-old, who frequently trains with United’s senior squad, was given the opportunity to showcase his talents with the first team during pre-season training.
Although the intention is to carefully monitor his progress, the club recognizes that he has genuine talent. Fabrizio Romano claims United are aware they have a “real gem” on their hands.
Hours before United’s Champions League victory over Sabah, their under-19 team competed at the Lee Training Center in a UEFA Youth League match.
Gabriel maintained his excellent start to the campaign with a hat-trick as the young Reds cruised to a 5-0 win, becoming the youngest United player in the club’s history to achieve such success in the competition.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “It will be important to see how Manchester United deal with JJ in terms of bringing him into the first team in official games.”
“It will be an important topic because everyone at Manchester United, when they talk about JJ Gabriel, is in complete shock at how good this boy is. So obviously his journey is going to be absolutely critical to understanding JJ better.”
United have already made a call to promote Gabriel to U21 level this season, but he remains on the fringes of the first team. United fans are looking forward to seeing the youngster play competitively for the senior team for the first time.
Carrick often attended United youth matches, closely monitoring Gabriel’s progress. Speaking after watching Gabriel last month, the Reds head coach said: “I really enjoyed the game. You could see the quality.”
“JJ is one of the guys. He obviously has really great talent. He trained with us quite a lot and is constantly gaining experience. He adapts physically to every step he takes, and we just continue to develop him.”
The United manager wasn’t the only one to sing the youngster’s praises, with U21 coach Adam Lawrence waxing lyrical about Gabriel after winning the UEFA Youth League. He told the Manchester Evening News: “Well, I think the main thing in my job is not to spoil it.
“So when you have a player as talented as JJ and those guys, you certainly don’t want to stifle their freedom and creativity. And I think essentially what you’re trying to do is set up the team so that the talent can function and play freely at the right times.”
“Of course, it may not always be free and easy in terms of some of the odd responsibilities he’s working on and some pressing things he’s thinking about.
“But again, in terms of how he plays the right way and how he interacts with his other teammates at the top end of the pitch, he is in a very good position. If you look at this game today, I think he’s playing the right way.”