Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United were having a tumultuous week already, before the bombshell that JJ Gabriel has asked for his contract to be effectively torn up.
The 15-year-old prodigious talent is almost a household name due to being one of the best talents in the country. But he won’t be at Manchester United for much longer as JJ Gabriel has requested to leave the club ahead of his 16th birthday, with a move abroad considered on the cards.
Gabriel’s reasons for departing are linked to wanting more game time, with the suggestion that he and his entourage were left frustrated by the teenager not being given game time for the first team this season to date. This, despite his debut pencilled in for the Carabao Cup third round.
Now, Gabriel has burnt his bridges by refusing to train and demanding to be deregistered. But this all goes against Gabriel’s thinking from just a month ago.
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JJ Gabriel previously suggested he was happy to be patient
To emphasise how ridiculous Gabriel’s complaints are, he is 15. Due to his age, Gabriel has been eligible to play just six games for Manchester United, and we are still in September of the season that was universally seen as when he would break through.
The chance was coming; Gabriel was 24 hours from potentially making history by becoming the youngest player to represent United ever. He was about to get everything that he had been working for, but he has now blown everything up, with the majority of the blame being placed at the feet of his entourage.
Adults around Gabriel, spoiling what would have been a dream for the young player, it feels unfair on him, as he is said to be a really good kid with some bad characters influencing and controlling his every move.
What is concerning is that this directly contradicts his statement after pre-season, in which Gabriel spoke of patience, which has frustratingly already gone out the window and has clearly been backtracked on.
This didn’t sound like a wonderkid planning to kick off about senior minutes just a few weeks later. But several factors oppose the view that he wants to leave.
After Gabriel scored a hat-trick against Sabah last week, just five days before his request to leave, the teenager was in great spirits, celebrating with teammates and coaches at full-time. He did not look like a player who had his mind on a move or was even unhappy at all.
Marcus Rashford called Gabriel the future, which is yet another factor in why it’s unbelievable he would want to leave when he is training with his idol every week. The situation just doesn’t add up at all.
Manchester United U21 v Ipswich Town U21: Premier League 2
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Everyone knew Gabriel would leave at some point, but the timing is really weird and doesn’t serve his development well at all. How those around him think he has a better chance of playing at Barcelona or Real Madrid is beyond us, with United’s current options far easier for him to bypass.
One thing worth noting is that the timing and the fact he didn’t seem unhappy as recently as last week could suggest that Ineos’ hopes of reconvincing Gabriel to stay at United could have traction. Gabriel wanted out in the summer of 2025, only to perform a U-turn and stay, so there is no reason this couldn’t happen again.
From the club’s point of view, they wouldn’t have been keen to give him the keys to the club and play him in the league and Champions League just because he hasn’t actually committed to United with a scholarship or pre-professional terms.
This story is far from over, but it is certainly leaning in one direction over the other.