Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United have got a player who’s “got a massive chance” of becoming a superstar at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim needs to pick up the pieces after an awful start to the season which has seen them lose to Arsenal, draw with Fulham and reach a new nadir in defeat to League Two Grimsby Town on Wednesday.
The Red Devils host Burnley on Saturday before an international break which many believe Amorim will be lucky to survive if his side fail to claim a win over the newly promoted side at Old Trafford.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for United according to Ferdinand, who is impressed by what former teammate Darren Fletcher is achieving with the U18 side, picking out striker JJ Gabriel as a potential star for the future.
In a season in which 15-year-old Max Dowman and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha have been cast into the limelight through their displays for Arsenal and Liverpool respectively, Ferdinand believes 14-year-old Gabriel is “next” and claims his “confidence” is similar to that of Wayne Rooney when he broke through at a young age.
“I’ve been watching my old mate, Darren Fletcher is now the manager of the under-18s, doing a fabulous job there,” the United legend said on ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents’.
“Keep hearing him talk about Man United, DNA, and making players run, be aggressive, and having to be relentless. I watched him the other day smash up a few teams’ last three or four games, banged in goals galore. But could have scored more, dominating teams.
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“They’ve got a kid called JJ Gabriel. I know you’ve heard of him. Wow. He’s got a massive chance. Massive.
“He’s the one who could be mentioned alongside Rio [Ngumoha] and Max Dowman. He’s the next one, I’m telling you.
“Love to see it. And these kids have got confidence, I don’t think that lads in our generation [had], only the likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Joe Cole, I’ve seen confidence like that.”
Gabriel scored three goals for the U18s in just 72 minutes of action from three substitute appearances at the end of last season and two from two starts this term.
Ferdinand also made a plea to Kobbie Mainoo, who doubled down on his desire to leave the club on Friday, to stay and fight for his place, as Amorim did in his press conference.
“David Ornstein was saying that Kobbie Mainoo is open to leaving, which is… I don’t want to hear that,” Ferdinand added.
“So, Kobbie, if you’re watching this, if you’re hearing, if people that are next to him, please don’t let me hear that. Please, man. I need you to stay at the club.
“Be patient. Please, I know it’s difficult. It’s easy for me to say, but I want to see you here.”