JJ Gabriel has trained with the Manchester United first-team this seasonplaceholder image
JJ Gabriel has trained with the Manchester United first-team this season | Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd face Brighton in the FA Cup third round on Sunday afternoon and JJ Gabriel was tipped to be involved.
Darren Fletcher has confirmed teenage sensation JJ Gabriel will not be considered for selection when Manchester United face Brighton in the FA Cup third round this weekend.
The 15-year-old has been tipped to become the youngest player in the club's history and is technically eligible to feature in the FA Cup this season. Gabriel is not eligible to feature in Premier League matches due to specific competition rules but could feature in the knockout cup competition. He has already trained with the first-team on a handful of occasions this season.
A report this week speculated that the teenager, dubbed the 'next Neymar' due to his immense technical ability, could have been involved in the match. However, United interim head coach ruled out any involvement against Brighton, though he did pile the praise on the teenage forward.
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United make JJ Gabriel decision vs Brighton
Darren Fletcher will look to his mark during his spell as interim Manchester United head coach, but he will not do so by handing a debut to JJ Gabriel.
Speaking in the embargoed section of his pre-match press conference, Fletcher ruled out a possible debut vs Brighton this weekend: "Well, he could be, but he's not going to be because obviously anybody could be picked, but JJ is a fantastic talent. I've enjoyed working with him immensely, getting to know him. He's a young lad with a massive sort of hype, you know there's a lot of noise around him and deservedly so because he's a real talented kid. He works hard. He loves football. First thing I'd say is he loves football. He loves training, he loves playing, he loves having the ball, he loves expressing himself. He makes fantastic decisions. He's just got an enthusiasm for the game that's just amazing.
“Fifteen-year-old, a bright future ahead of him. I'm super excited by his talent, but the most important thing that he keeps developing, and he's in the under 18s team, and he's doing fantastically well, but he's still got lots to learn. He's developing within there. But the world's his oyster and he just needs to go on his journey and his time will come in due course.
"But for just now, it's a little bit early I think and I think a lot of people would agree with me. But. I couldn't speak highly enough of JJ. He's got an amazing family and amazing support around him and he's somebody we're delighted to have at the club and we just hope he keeps improving, learning every day and just keep being the boy that he is really and enjoying love and playing football and going and expressing themselves and scoring lots of goals so the Manchester United under 18s win every game. And then I'll be a happy man."
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