Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel is on the cusp of becoming a history maker for Manchester United in the next 12 months, but pre-season inclusion would need some serious rules.
At just 15, JJ Gabriel is the biggest name in academy football right now, and Manchester United are planning accordingly, with his first-team breakthrough being fast-tracked.
Gabriel will have ambitions of beating Max Dowman’s record for being the youngest ever goalscorer in the Premier League, and he has until December 2026 to do so.
While too young to debut this season, Gabriel will be targeting a breakout next season. With United also seemingly prepared for that option.
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JJ Gabriel celebrates, in Man Utd red kit
Photo by Anthony Devlin/Manchester United via Getty Images
JJ Gabriel celebrates scoring at Old Trafford in FA Youth Cup game
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Manchester United is planning to take JJ Gabriel on the pre-season tour
Gabriel is currently the best scoring forward in youth football anywhere in the country, and United are clearly excited by his undeniable ability.
Now, according to the Daily Mail, Gabriel is being considered for a place in the United first-team squad for pre-season.
This came amid the claim that United will face Wrexham in Helsinki, a match which is likely to see United with a young-centric squad, considering the World Cup impact.
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Gabriel could therefore quite feasibly get playing time here, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him on the rest of the tour either.
Gabriel is training with the first team regularly already, which means the next step up can’t be considered too far away.
If he does get involved, it would be the first time in the modern era that a 15-year-old has been involved on a United pre-season tour, making history.
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Bringing Gabriel on tour would be a good move, allowing him to experience this and also potentially play against senior professionals in friendlies.
However, there needs to be a balance. Stephen Torpey insisted United need to protect Gabriel and save him from being overexposed at such a young age.
Inclusion on the senior tour wouldn’t necessarily be perfect for accomplishing this, given that it would open him up to new eyes outside of the fanbase.
This could see pressure, and maybe even criticisms arrive, which a 15-year-old doesn’t need from all angles.
So if he is included, United needs to bar him from doing any media on the tour. Sir Alex Ferguson famously did this with Ryan Giggs in order to try to avoid his ego being massively inflated.
United aren’t concerned about Gabriel’s mentality, but it cannot be predicted how the limelight will affect a player. So keeping him away from being the club’s poster boy until he’s 18 should be the move to protect the wonderkid.
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