JJ Gabriel has been making headlines at Manchester United, with the 15-year-old youth prospect continuing to impress Michael Carrick and the rest of the club's hierarchy
Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel continues to impress the club hierarchy.
Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel continues to impress the club hierarchy.(Image: (Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images))
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Manchester United are reportedly 'in total shock' at the exceptional ability of JJ Gabriel as he continues his extraordinary rise towards Michael Carrick's first team. The 15-year-old, who frequently trains alongside United's senior squad, was afforded a chance to showcase his talents with the first team during pre-season.
While the intention is to manage his progression carefully, the club recognise they possess a genuine talent. Fabrizio Romano claims United are conscious they have 'a real gem on their hands.'
In the hours preceding United's Champions League victory over Sabah FK, their Under-19s were competing at the Leigh Training Centre for the UEFA Youth League fixture.
Gabriel maintained his excellent start to the campaign, netting a hat-trick as the young Reds secured a 5-0 triumph, and became the youngest United player in the club's history to achieve the feat in the competition.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: "It's going to be important to see how Manchester United manage JJ in terms of involving him in the first team in official games.
"That's going to be an important topic because everyone at Manchester United, when they speak about JJ Gabriel, is in total shock at how good this boy is. So obviously, his pathway is going to be absolutely important in order to understand more about JJ."
JJ Gabriel looks on
JJ Gabriel is a player many Man United fans are well aware of (Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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JJ Gabriel celebrates
Man United youngster JJ Gabriel has a bright future in the game (Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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United have already made the call to elevate Gabriel to the U21s setup this season, and he remains on the periphery of the first-team. United fans are keenly anticipating their first sight of the youngster in a competitive fixture for the senior side.
Carrick has frequently attended United's youth matches, monitoring Gabriel's progress closely. Speaking last month after watching Gabriel, the Reds head coach said: "I really enjoyed the game. You could see the quality.
"JJ is one of the boys. He's obviously got a really big talent. He's trained with us quite a bit and is getting experience all the time. He's physically adapting to each step that he makes, and we're just continuing his development."
The United manager was not the only one singing the youngster's praises, with U21s boss Adam Lawrence waxing lyrical about Gabriel following the victory in the UEFA Youth League. He told the Manchester Evening News: "Well, I think the first thing in my job is not to ruin him.
"So when you have a talented player like JJ and the other lads of course, you obviously don't want to stifle their freedom and their creativity. And I think essentially what you try and do is to set the team up to allow the talent to function and to play free at the right moments.
"Of course, it can't always be free and off the cuff in terms of some of the off-the-ball responsibilities that he's working on and some of the pressing things that he's thinking about.
"But again, in terms of how he plays properly and how he connects with other teammates at the top end of the pitch, he's just in a real good space. If you look at that game today, I think he's playing properly."
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