Manchester United fans who attended the 3-2 FA Youth Cup win over Sunderland made sure they got their selfies with JJ Gabriel. Only 2,516 were in attendance at Old Trafford.
Gabriel celebrated his 15th birthday in October. However, he is currently unable to play in the Premier League. This is due to the rule that players must be 15 by 31 August of the season in question to be allowed to play, meaning they have to be in Year 11 at school.
A Stand-Out Performer in the Youth Cup
Despite being a Year 10 student, Gabriel stands out. He is physically smaller than the majority of the players he is playing with and against.
The victory against Sunderland earned United an Old Trafford semi-final with Crystal Palace. United also meet Crystal Palace in the Premier League Under-18 Cup final at Selhurst Park next month. The game against Sunderland wasn’t Gabriel’s best performance.
He still produced a couple of magical moments. There was the first-time lay-off to Chido Obi in the first half. There was also the perfectly weighted pass to Junior Brown that was smashed home for the winner.
More thrillingly, there was the dazzling two-footed manoeuvre that took him into a shooting position at the end of the game.
That’s why those fans were after their selfies at the end. It is why Gabriel’s name was cheered the loudest when it was read out just before kick-off.
Comparisons to Arsenal’s Max Dowman
Youth coaches are reluctant to single out individual players. They know the pressure they can place on youngsters who have so much growing up and so much development ahead of them.
But, just as with Arsenal’s Max Dowman – the 16-year-old who last weekend became the Premier League’s youngest ever scorer – for Gabriel there is no escaping attention.
United Keen to Secure Gabriel’s Future
In August, he was in the directors’ box with his family for the league opener against Arsenal. In December, he was pictured with Sir Alex Ferguson at the 1-1 draw with West Ham.
These events do not happen by accident. United know they must prove to Gabriel that he should commit his future to them.
They rolled out the red carpet last summer, when technical director Jason Wilcox was part of the delegation that spoke to Gabriel. Wilcox’s sales pitch kept the Londoner in the north-west.
Nothing that has happened since will dissuade Europe’s leading clubs from thinking Gabriel has talent they would quite like.
- He is top of the Premier League Under-18 scoring charts.
- He has scored 10 goals in his past nine games.
- In a United side challenging on multiple fronts under coach Darren Fletcher, Gabriel is a stand-out performer.
Ruben Amorim was the first to call him into the senior training squad, even if his response to Gabriel’s presence was l