Michael Carrick refused to be drawn on JJ Gabriel’s future at Manchester United, calling for the situation over the 15-year-old star to be handled with ‘care’.
Gabriel, an outstanding young talent who has been dubbed ‘Kid Messi’, stunned the club this week by asking to leave Old Trafford.
He had been expected to be included in the squad for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Brighton where a debut would have made him the youngest player in United’s history.
Instead, his future could lie away from Manchester. United are yet to respond to his request to cancel his registration with hope within the club they can still rectify the situation and convince him to stay.
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Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the queue of clubs interested in signing the prodigious talent.
Gabriel’s future dominated the lead-up to Wednesday’s game where United’s problems deepened, throwing away a two-goal lead to crash out of the competition having been outclassed by Brighton.
Speaking after the game, Carrick was asked for an update on Gabriel’s situation with Carrick insisting the teenager’s well-being must be the priority.
‘I just think we’ve got to be really careful of the whole situation,’ Carrick said in his post-match press conference.
‘He’s a young boy, he’s 15, and the biggest for me definitely, and as a club point of view, is looking after our younger players for the welfare, their well-being, their exposure.
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‘All of us, I think we’ve got to be really conscious of that.’
Asked if he will be part of discussions over Gabriel’s future, Carrick added: ‘As a club for sure we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful.’
Chelsea and Manchester City are among the clubs monitoring the situation with football.london reporting Arsenal also hold an interest in bringing the youngster back to London.
Arsenal and United have traded academy talents recently with Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven both leaving north London to sign for the 20-time league champions. In the summer, the Gunners snapped up James Scanlon and Habeeb Ogunneye from the Red Devils.
Arsenal could also point to Max Dowman as an example of the trust they place in their young stars having handed him his senior debut at the age of 15 last season.
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