According to MEN, Manchester United are in a state of shock over JJ Gabriel’s decision to try and quit Old Trafford after the 15-year-old refused to train on Tuesday ahead of what could have been a first-team debut this week.
United had planned to name Gabriel in their squad to face Brighton in the Carabao Cup third-round on Wednesday, but the teenager has decided against training with Michael Carrick’s squad after asking to leave the club.
Gabriel would have become United’s youngest-ever player had he featured against the Seagulls, but he has left the club stunned after sending a formal notification that he wants his registration to be cancelled.
United officials are unclear what has caused Gabriel to demand to leave the club he has played for since the age of 11. He made his UEFA Youth League debut against Sabah last Thursday and scored a hat-trick as his remarkable rise up the ranks continued.
Despite Gabriel’s request and his decision not to train, which effectively rules him out of a senior debut this week, United still feel the situation is rectifiable given the time remaining on his contract. A United source said Gabriel cannot be de-registered, despite his request.
He can’t sign a professional contract until he turns 17, or a scholarship agreement until he is 16, which Gabriel does not do until October 6, but under the current rules, Gabriel is registered with United until the end of the current season.
It is not the first time he has come close to leaving and director of football Jason Wilcox had to intervene to keep Gabriel at the club when he was a 14-year-old in 2025.
The forward is on the radar of clubs across Europe, but Barcelona have made a particularly firm pitch to sign him, and it’s understood Gabriel could move abroad from the age of 16, as he has an Irish passport.
Suspicion was raised when the 15-year-old removed all mention of Manchester United from his social media accounts on Friday, the day after his hat-trick against Sabah. He has since handed in the request to leave the club.
United handed senior Champions League debuts to 19-year-olds Harry Amass and Shea Lacey in the 4-0 win at Old Trafford, but fellow academy graduate Tyler Fletcher was the only other youngster included in a larger, 12-man bench allowed by UEFA rules.
The idea of losing Gabriel would be difficult for United to take. He is the youngest winner of the Jimmy Murphy award for the club’s best young player and scored 26 goals in 29 games last season. He has five in three games this term, including two in his first two matches at Premier League 2 level.
