Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim praised 15-year-old sensation J.J. Gabriel as “really talented” after he took part in first-team training this week. The teenage prodigy trained with United’s first team on Thursday.
It is rare for such a young player to be given the opportunity to work in the first team, but Gabriel is regarded as one of the most exceptional prospects to come out of the academy. Gabriel and his extended family were welcomed into the director’s box at Old Trafford for the season opener against Arsenal, while United recently arranged for Gabriel to play against Amorim at Carrington.
By attending the sessions, Amorim gained a deeper understanding of the boy’s abilities. “I know, like you guys, that he’s a really talented guy and everyone was paying attention on social media,” Amorim said.
“As you can see, there was a game for the Under-21 team, but we had a small number of players and I wanted to select talented players for training. It was not just for me to know about tomorrow, but to give them a feel of what it means to be in the first team, the difficulty of playing against our defenders, the difficulty of our training, the pace.”
“If we can take advantage of all the training we need and show the kids what they need to do to get here, that’s important for everyone, not just JJ.”
Earlier this month, the Manchester Evening News provided an insight into Gabriel’s impressive progress through youth football. CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox were also involved in talks to keep Gabriel over the summer, leading to speculation among fans as to when he might make his first-team debut.
The 15-year-old prodigy could become United’s youngest ever player in the Premier League.
Angel Gomez (16 years and 263 days), Shola Shoretire (17 years and 19 days) and Chido Obi (17 years and 79 days) currently hold the record as the youngest players to grace the pitch for United in the Premier League.
