JJ Gabriel has been compared to Wayne Rooney by Ryan Giggs, and the Manchester United teenager produced a performance to further the hype around him in a 5-0 win over Sabah in the UEFA Youth League on Thursday.
Gabriel, 15, was a regular feature in United’s pre-season squads this summer, though he featured in just one of those games, against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm. However, his proximity to Michael Carrick’s squad and his performances at youth level have led to talk of him becoming United’s youngest first-team player.
David Gaskell, who made his debut in the 1956 Charity Shield aged 16 years and 19 days, holds the honour of being the youngest player in United’s history.
Gabriel does not turn 16 until October and furthered his case for inclusion by scoring a hat-trick as United crushed Azerbaijani side Sabah to open their Youth League campaign.
It was one way traffic throughout, with United attempting a remarkable 44 shots to Sabah’s 0.
United were 2-0 up inside 16 minutes, but Gabriel’s first did not arrive until the stroke of half-time as he volleyed in from close range after excellent chest control.
His second came five minutes before the end of normal time as he cut inside a defender and slotted into the bottom-right corner.
Two minute he completed the treble by latching onto a ball over the top and rifling into the top-left corner, marking his debut in the Youth League in sublime fashion.
What has Michael Carrick said about Gabriel?
When previously asked about Gabriel, Carrick indicated there is no rush for him to be moved into the first-team squad for competitive games.
“JJ is one of the boys,” Carrick said. “He’s obviously got a really big talent. He’s trained with us quite a bit and is getting experience all the time.
“He’s physically adapting to each step, and we’re just continuing his development.”
Any need Carrick feels to protect Gabriel would be understandable, but the more he continues to shine to this extent, the more it may be harder to avoid giving the teenager an historic debut.
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