Manchester United remain optimistic about retaining academy candidate J.J. Gabriel, despite Barcelona stepping up their pursuit of the teenage sensation. The 15-year-old and his family have been invited to Barcelona’s Camp Nou on at least one occasion recently and were given a comprehensive tour of the facilities as the Catalan giants look to lure United’s young players.
Barcelona’s interest in Gabriel is well established. During his trip to the Spanish city, Gabriel met with Barcelona players and made it abundantly clear that the club would welcome him into the prestigious La Masia’s academy at some stage. The England Under-16 international has been regarded as one of the best talents to come out of United’s academy in recent years, and has been in the spotlight this season due to his prolific goalscoring record for the Under-18s.
He scored a hat-trick in the 7-0 win over Liverpool Under-18s at the weekend and has found the back of the net 10 times in as many games this season. Gabriel has already taken part in first-team training, while Ruben Amorim is doubtful whether he will take part in senior training.
“I know, like everyone, he’s a really talented guy and everyone was watching on social media,” he said. “As you can see there was a match for the U21 team, we had a small number of players and we tried to select talented players for training.”
“Not just for me to know tomorrow, but for them to feel what it means to be in the first team, the difficulty of playing against defenders, the difficulty of training, the pace. If we can use every training session to show the kids what they have to do to be here, that’s important for everyone, not just JJ.”
Barcelona’s pursuit of Gabriel has been going on for at least two years and interest remains unabated. Thanks to his father’s Irish roots, the forward would be eligible for an EU passport, which would facilitate a smooth transition to European football.
However, United remain adamant they want to keep Gabriel. The club’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, will be instrumental in charting a clear career trajectory for the young striker and his family in the summer of 2025, and Amorim has shown a keen interest in his progress.
