Manchester United managed to convince academy prospect JJ Gabriel to remain at the club, despite strong interest from leading European sides over the summer
JJ Gabriel
JJ Gabriel is the latest prospect to emerge from Man United’s academy(Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)
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Manchester United reportedly held an emergency meeting with JJ Gabriel in June in an effort to persuade him to remain at the club. The 15‑year‑old is one of the latest talents to emerge from United's academy and his performances have attracted interest from several European sides.
According to The Athletic, Gabriel came close to leaving Old Trafford amid that attention and Barcelona are still closely tracking his progress.
It's said that United acted promptly and chiefs Matt Hargreaves and Jason Wilcox arranged emergency talks and ultimately convinced him to stay.
Hargreaves is said to have 'made an important intervention' during the negotiations, while Wilcox 'outlined pathways' for the player.
United's ambition and determination to keep the youngster are believed to have been decisive in convincing Gabriel to stay.
Gabriel and his father, Joe O'Cearuill, were subsequently invited to watch United's opening‑day clash with Arsenal from the director's box and the club have since introduced the youngster to Ruben Amorim at Carrington.
The striker has also taken part in number of training sessions with the first team this season. Amorim was given a closer look at the youngster when he took part in training and said: "Like everyone, I know he is a really talented guy and everyone paid attention on social media.
"You could see the Under-21s had a game and we had fewer players and tried to pick players for training that have talent, not just for me to see for tomorrow, but for them to feel what it means to be in the first team, the difficulties playing against our defenders, the difficulty of our training, the pace.
"If we can use every training we have to show the kids what they need to do to be here, it is important, not just for JJ but for everyone."
At just 15 years old, and following a change in the rules, Gabriel was eligible to feature in the FA Youth Cup at Old Trafford.
JJ Gabriel
JJ Gabriel celebrating after scoring at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup
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He went on to break the record, becoming the youngest player ever to score in the competition's history.
His strike secured a 1‑0 victory over Peterborough in the FA Youth Cup third round earlier this week, marking his 11th goal in just 12 appearances.