Man Utd head coach Michael Carrick has discussed the progress being made by 15-year-old JJ Gabriel this season.
JJ Gabriel of Manchester United
JJ Gabriel is in red-hot form for Manchester United Under-18s this season(Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)
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Michael Carrick is pleased with the progress being made by teenage sensation JJ Gabriel after including the 15-year-old in first-team training again this week.
Gabriel is too young to play in the Premier League this season but he has trained with the senior set-up at Carrington on numerous occasions and his exploits for the Under-18s have caught the eye.
He has 20 goals in 22 games this season and Carrick has been keeping an eye on his development. The United head coach has been a big supporter of the academy since he took over in January and he brought his press conference forward on Friday so that he could watch the Under-21s play Southampton at Carrington in Premier League 2, with that match kicking-off at 1pm.
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Gabriel only turned 15 in October, so is too young to play for the Under-21s in Premier League 2 as well, but Carrick is aware of just how talented the young forward is.
"He's doing really well, JJ," he said. "We've got some really good young players in the academy and we try and get the younger players up as much as we can.
"We're always trying to give that exposure to the players to come and train and feel it. JJ is a big talent, it's pretty obvious to know that, and he's had a really good season for the under-18s.
"We obviously think an awful lot of him, but patience is important in managing everything that comes with that and working with him in development as we do with all the different age groups and younger players and picking the right moment to step up, picking the moment to leave them in a certain place and ups and downs.
"When he's trained, he's done well, as you'd expect, and it's good to have the younger players come up with us."