Man Utd wonderkid Gabriel attracting interest from top European clubs — SkimNews
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- JJ Gabriel, 15, has asked Manchester United to cancel his youth registration so he can become a free agent, with his camp feeling the club did not give him enough first-team opportunities, including in the Champions League
- Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, plus several Premier League clubs, are tracking Gabriel, according to the report
- Gabriel was left off United's Champions League A-list and featured for only eight minutes with the first team in pre-season, though he did make his debut against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm last month
- Gabriel has scored a hat-trick against Sabah in the UEFA Youth League and recorded two goals and two assists in Premier League 2 this season; he became the youngest winner of United's Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award last season after netting 20-plus goals for the U18s
- Premier League rules require agreement from the club, player and parent or carer to cancel a youth registration, with the Premier League able to issue a binding decision if the parties cannot agree; Gabriel turns 16 on October 6 and cannot sign a scholarship until then or a professional contract until he is 17
- Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox and academy director Stephen Torpey will lead efforts to de-escalate and persuade Gabriel to stay
- Head coach Michael Carrick urged Gabriel's welfare be protected, calling him "a 15-year-old boy," while Sky Sports' Paul Merson called a potential departure a "massive blow" and compared Gabriel's frustration to Max Dowman at Arsenal and Rio Ngumoha at Liverpool getting first-team chances
Why it matters: For Manchester United, losing a 15-year-old unanimously described as 'unbelievable talent' by Paul Merson — and their youngest-ever Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year — to a free-agent departure would be a sporting and reputational blow, with Europe's elite already circling. The Premier League's binding arbitration rule means United cannot unilaterally block the exit if Gabriel's family and the league side with the player.
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