Манчестер Юнайтедын академийн ирээдүйтэй залуу тоглогч Жей Жей Габриэль бүртгэлээ цуцлах албан ёсны хүсэлт гаргасан ч клуб уг шийдвэрийг хүлээж авахаас татгалзсан байна.
Өдгөө 15 настай Жей Жей Габриэль өнгөрсөн оны 12 дугаар сард Питерборо Юнайтедын эсрэг хийсэн FA Youth Cup-ийн тоглолтод гоолдож, Манчестер Юнайтедын түүхэн дэх тус тэмцээнд оролцсон хамгийн залуу тоглогч болсон юм. Тэрээр өнгөрсөн улиралд Даррен Флетчерийн удирдлагад 18 хүртэлх насны багт амжилттай тоглож, Ливерпүүлийн хаалганд хет-трик хийсэн зэрэг өндөр үзүүлэлтүүдээрээ олны анхааралд өртсөн билээ. Түүнийг Английн 2010 онд төрсөн шилдэг тоглогч хэмээн үнэлж, тоглолтын арга барилаар нь Фил Фодентой зүйрлэдэг.
Манчестер Юнайтед залуу тоглогчийнхоо гэрээг ирэх зун хүртэл хүчинтэй хэмээн үзэж, нөхцөл байдлыг засах тал дээр өндөр түвшний яриа хэлэлцээг үргэлжлүүлж байна. Габриэль өмнө нь 2025 оны зун багаа орхих бодолтой байсан ч клубийн зүгээс удирдлагын түвшинд арга хэмжээ авч, түүнд цаашдын хөгжлийн тодорхой төлөвлөгөөг танилцуулснаар шийдвэрээ өөрчилж байсан удаатай.
Түүнийг ахлах багийн бэлтгэлд хамрагдах үед Бруно Фернандеш зэрэг тоглогчид найрсаг хүлээж авч байсан бөгөөд академийн дасгалжуулагчид түүнийг суралцах өндөр чадвартай, хоёр хөлөөрөө тоглох чадвар сайтай тоглогч хэмээн онцолдог. Хэдийгээр Габриэль бие бялдрын хувьд хөгжлийн шатандаа яваа ч талбай дээрх шийдвэр гаргалт, бөмбөг эзэмшилтээрээ бусдаас ялгардаг. Одоогийн байдлаар түүний ирээдүй Манчестер Юнайтедтай холбоотой хэвээр байгаа эсэх нь тодорхойгүй байна.
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A version of this article was first published in December 2022.
Playing for the first time at Old Trafford, JJ Gabriel looked every bit at ease, scoring the only goal of the game to send Manchester United into the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.
Gabriel sized up the lay-off from Nathaniel-Junior Brown, after a sharp turn and cross by Jariyah Shah, and opened his body to sidefoot the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the 18-yard box. It was a shot of precision and speed.
He set off on a knee-slide celebration in front of the 1,378 crowd, many of whom would doubtless have turned up that Tuesday night hoping to see a goal from this young talent attracting such a buzz. This was December 2025. Now, nine months on, he is generating attention for a different reason.
Gabriel, 15, has formally asked to leave United, handing in a letter of de-registration to send shockwaves through the club. United are denying the request, and feel there is time to fix the situation given his contract runs until next summer. High-level talks are ongoing.
But the prospect of Gabriel ending his time at United is very real, which would mark a significant exit for a club famed for its academy development.
JJ Gabriel in an under-18s game against Liverpool last season, where he scored a hat-trick (Poppy Townson – Manchester United via Getty Images)
Gabriel was a key member of Darren Fletcher’s under-18s side last season, despite playing three years up. By the end of autumn he had scored 10 goals in 11 games, including a hat-trick of supreme quality in the 7-0 demolition of Liverpool at the end of November.
And yet, at kick-off in the FA Youth Cup tie against Peterborough United, Gabriel was only 15 years, two months and three days old, making him the youngest Manchester United player to ever feature in the competition, according to online database Transfermarkt. Omari Forson had been 15 years, four months and 23 days when he played in December 2019.
Playing in the Youth Cup at such an age is rare, no matter the club, because until last season, the Football Association (FA) had a lower limit of being 15 years old by September 1 of the season involved. The FA then removed the rule, meaning Max Dowman, for instance, could play in the competition for Arsenal in January 2025 at 15 years and 18 days.
Dowman later faced United at the Emirates Stadium in the quarter-finals in the February, on the night Gabriel travelled with the visitors while aged just 14. His presence was notable as he warmed up with his older team-mates before watching them win 3-2 after extra time, a sign of the esteem in which he is held at the club.
At their training complex, he is regarded as the best player in the country to be born in 2010 and has earned comparisons to Phil Foden of Manchester City and England with the way he takes the ball on the turn. Gabriel himself grew up with a fondness for Neymar, and he certainly carries a particular grace on the pitch reminiscent of the Brazilian when he broke through.
Gabriel’s trip to north London for that Arsenal match nine months ago came during a previous period when his future was also up in the air, summer 2025 being a point in his academy life when, according to the regulations, he could have left United. At one stage, his exit appeared inevitable.
He made three Under-18 Premier League appearances while still 14, scoring three goals, but at the start of that summer, 15 months ago, he and his family informed United they were planning to move on and thanked people at the club for all they had done. Neighbours City were among the teams seriously interested. Europe’s top sides were and are tracking him.
But United organised an emergency meeting in June 2025, the day after Gabriel returned from holiday, and were able to change his mind. Matt Hargreaves, United’s director of negotiations, made an important intervention, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, presented the pathway and aims of the club. That renewed care and clearer plan swung matters.
Gabriel and his father, Joe O’Cearuill, who guides and coaches his son, were invited to watch the opening Premier League game of the season against Arsenal from the Old Trafford directors’ box. Joe, a former professional himself with two senior appearances for the Republic of Ireland, spent the 2006-07 season at Arsenal, training with the likes of Jack Wilshere and being in the squad for Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial game in July 2006, which marked the official opening of the Emirates.
The youngster was in the directors’ box again for the visit of West Ham United in December 2025, meeting Sir Alex Ferguson, and he had meaningful interactions with Ruben Amorim. More than once, he trained with Amorim’s first-team squad, holding his own due to his tight control and two-footedness, and captain Bruno Fernandes was especially welcoming, calling Gabriel by his name and chatting to him.
Having tried to shield Gabriel from too much outside attention as he progressed through the age groups, United released photographs for the first time of him training with the senior side at the end of November 2025, including one in an Instagram carousel advertising kit offers for Black Friday, marking a shift in approach.
Gabriel and his family were happy in the new academy setup led by Steve Torpey, and appreciated Fletcher’s coaching, which leans into his experience as a top-level player with United and Scotland’s national team.
That bond with Fletcher could be seen at Old Trafford during that FA Youth Cup tie against Peterborough. Twice in the game, he had one-to-one conversations with Gabriel during breaks in play, a reasonable guess being that they discussed his positioning. At one point, midway through the first half, Fletcher called for Gabriel to “Come higher, JJ”, as he occupied a pocket of space in midfield while United built from the back. Gabriel is viewed as an attentive learner.
Travis Binnion, United’s under-21s lead coach at the time, also offered advice from the dugout, shouting for Gabriel to fall back into formation after being tackled late on, having earlier praised him for a dribble where he wriggled clear of two opponents.
Gabriel’s balance and ability off either foot are special, allowing him to open up passing angles that otherwise would not be available.
He is still growing, of course, and plays with some associated problems in his knees. He can be more efficient with his output in matches, too.
Naturally, there are moments against older, more developed players, where physicality comes into effect.
That is partly why Fletcher tried him at No 9, so he got on the ball close to the box, in areas where his skill in tight spaces shines brightest. Some of his goals have been marvellous combinations of quick dribbles and sharp shooting. It is expected he will cement a position at No 10 in the coming years, however.
Though he has a slender physique, Gabriel is tough.
In October 2024, he dislocated his shoulder in the seventh minute of a game against Blackburn Rovers in the Floodlit Cup, but he popped it back in, stayed on for the whole game, and scored a hat-trick. That injury required surgery, which kept him out for five and a half months, and probably delayed his debut for the under-18s.
Aged six, having never done keepy-uppies, he learned how to do 1,000 in a row within a week. He has since done 10,000 consecutively, which takes around an hour, and a lot of mental strength to push through fatigued legs and eyes.
That innate talent was spotted during a youth game when Gabriel was nine by YouTuber SV2, who asked to shoot some skills videos with him. One of those, made six years ago, has now attracted 29 million views, although it comes with the “Kid Messi” nickname Gabriel is keen to shed.
That online fame permeated real life, with Gabriel growing accustomed to posing for pictures. He attended the United Under-21s’ game against Belgian visitors Anderlecht at Leigh Sports Village in December 2025 with his father, and was asked for dozens of selfies.
Joe changed the family surname from O’Cearuill to Gabriel, in recognition of his and his wife’s religious beliefs and because his given name carried little meaning to him.
His son, born in London, had spells at Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham, and was first spotted by United aged seven after a Manchester Cup game. Scouts from City, Liverpool and Everton queued up to speak to him, with United’s representative being Gaz Thomas. The family visited United and met Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But Gabriel only signed for United two years later, after his family moved to Manchester when he was nine. Luke Fedorenko, who has since left as the club’s head of academy recruitment, oversaw the deal.
Aged 11, Gabriel signed his United contract alongside Cristiano Ronaldo Junior and the two became close friends. Last year, he put his name to a boot sponsorship deal with Nike after Adidas courted his signature for many months. Gabriel has been with Nike a long time, using the same model boots that Neymar played in. They served him well on his first appearance at Old Trafford, which was watched in the stands by Torpey, Hargreaves and the club’s director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell.
His knee-slide goal celebration is reminiscent of Thierry Henry’s, who was at Arsenal at the same time as his dad. He often does the shoulder-shrug one that United colleague Bryan Mbeumo performs – albeit he started doing it as a kid. In that game against Liverpool, he chose to mimic their striker Alexander Isak’s hand-flick celebration, but he has been advised against doing something like that again, however innocent, given the possibility for aggravation.
People close to United advocate patience with Gabriel. The road from academy star to senior professional can be complicated.
He has been, and remains, on a fast track. The coming days and weeks will reveal whether that track continues away from United.
