JJ Gabriel was in the headlines again on Saturday and the 15-year-old is continuing to make quite the impression at Man Utd.
Barely a week goes by without JJ Gabriel going viral amongst Manchester United fans. His latest head-turning act came on Saturday morning, when he scored two superb individual goals in the Under-18s’ 5-2 win against Nottingham Forest.
Gabriel scored twice in the space of five minutes in the first half at Carrington to add to his eye-catching reel. Both goals showed the ability he has, with quick feet and quick thinking working space around the edge of the Forest box before finding the back of the net from distance.
The 15-year-old now has 20 goals in 22 games at Under-18 level this season, a remarkable return for a player who only turned 15 in October. It is no surprise there is so much excitement around his ability and what comes next. His form is getting better as well. He has scored in six successive games, scoring nine goals in the process.
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Gabriel is so young that he is actually ineligible to play in the Premier League this season, which means there is no chance of a senior debut until next season.
The position he’s in was probably best summed up by Darren Fletcher in January. As Under-18s head coach, Fletcher knows all about Gabriel’s progression, and he would have been eligible to play against Brighton in the FA Cup, one of two first-team fixtures Fletcher oversaw during his temporary spell in charge.
But the former United midfielder gave the idea short shrift and was keen to emphasise patience when it comes to a first-team debut, while talking up the potential the forward clearly has.
“JJ is a fantastic talent. I’ve enjoyed working with him immensely, getting to know him,” said Fletcher. “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. 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. 15-year-old, a bright future ahead of him. I’m super excited by his talent, but the most important thing is that he keeps developing, and he’s in the U18 team, and he’s doing fantastically well, but he’s still got lots to learn.
“The world is 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 [first-team debut] a little bit early I think, and I think a lot of people would agree with me.”
A clear indication of how highly United rate him is that he has trained with the first team fairly often, under Ruben Amorim, Fletcher and Michael Carrick.
Gabriel’s first chance of some senior involvement will come in the summer. He is likely to train with the first team at the start of pre-season, with numbers short due to the World Cup. There will be no standard pre-season tour, which will make it easier for young players to move up and down in terms of training.
Depending on when United play their friendlies across Europe and how long senior internationals remain in the World Cup, Gabriel could feature in pre-season.
The more pressing question is likely to be how ready he is for first-team football next season. Three players have featured in the Premier League at the age of 15, including Arsenal duo Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman. Gabriel will have the first two-and-a-half months of the season to join them.
In terms of United records, David Gaskell is the youngest first-team debutant ever, at 16 years and 19 days in October 1956. Angel Gomes is the youngest in the Premier League era, at 16 years, eight months and 20 days.
While Gabriel continues to light up Under-18 fixtures at the age of 15, such talk of record-breaking feats will follow him around. He has already become the youngest United player to feature in the FA Youth Cup.
He might well make his first-team debut next season, but his more regular football could come with a step up to the Under-21s and a greater test of his physicality and ability.
But for now, as keen as United are to keep a lid on things, the hype train around Gabriel is only picking up speed.
