JJ Gabriel is to join Real Madrid in October after asking to leave Manchester United, a source has told 101 Great Goals.
The 15-year-old’s request to cancel his contract with immediate effect was reported by the Telegraph on Tuesday.
It is believed Gabriel has made the decision because of an approach from Madrid.
The Premier League club are not obliged to accept the request and have to sanction Gabriel’s departure for the move to proceed.
But United’s hands are somewhat tied because they cannot sign Gabriel on professional terms until he is 17 years of age or make him a scholar until his 16th birthday on October 6.
That has opened the door for Madrid to make their move and exploit a loophole allowing them to sign players aged between 16 and 18 from a fellow European Union country. Gabriel holds an Irish passport, making him eligible.
The shock development will come as a huge blow to United, who saw Gabriel as the crown jewel in their youth set-up.
The supremely gifted forward, who can play across the front three, made his first appearance for United’s Under-18 side aged 14 and went on to score 23 goals last season and become the youngest-ever winner of the club’s Jimmy Murphy young player of the year award.
Gabriel had been expected to make his first-team debut this season and was thought to be in contention to play against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday.
With talks with Madrid accelerating over the past week, that is not now a possibility.
Instead, London-born Gabriel, whose full name is Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel, will move to Spain and further his development at Madrid’s training complex, Valdebebas.
Manchester United fail to follow Arsenal’s lead
It is not known what has prompted Gabriel’s desire to pursue a deal with Madrid but a lack of clarity around his prospects at United could be a reason.
Gabriel has trained with United senior squad Under-21 squads this season but was not included in the club’s A list for the Champions League.
Clubs in the competition can call up youth players from a B list at short notice, but Gabriel would not have been eligible for that until he turned 16, meaning he was unable to featuring in the home win against Azerbaijani minnows Sabah on Thursday.
Instead, Gabriel played against Sabah in the UEFA Youth League on the same day, scoring a brilliant hat-trick in a one-sided win.
He deleted all mentions of United on his social media accounts after that game.
United’s treatment of Gabriel is in stark contrast to how Arsenal have looked after Max Dowman.
Dowman was 15 when he played for Arsenal in their 3-0 Champions League win over Slavia Prague last season.
Among his significant contributions as the Gunners won last season’s Premier League, Dowman scored a goal at home to Everton in May to become the Premier League’s youngest scorer at 16 years and 73 days
Giggs hails Gabriel as a ‘generational talent’
Gabriel’s reputation has spiralled after he joined United as an 11-year-old.
Ryan Giggs, who went from precocious teenager to 13-time Premier League winner under Sir Alex Ferguson, spoke about the attacker in glowing terms on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast on Wednesday.
“He’s a generational talent,” said Giggs. “There’s no point in going out on loan because he’s at the best place and he’d be dipping in and out of the first team, so that experience is invaluable.
“[It’s] not only the games and the training, but actually travelling with the team, seeing the expectation of Manchester United… the focus is so huge on United. You need to get used to that.”
When Manchester City tried to lure Gabriel last summer, he opted to remain at United. But the appeal of Madrid has prompted a change of heart.
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