Manchester United have been urged to make a statement by keeping hold of wantaway wonderkid JJ Gabriel.
The Red Devils have been dealt a major blow with the highly-rated 15-year-old asking to leave the club in a shock move.
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Recently labelled a ‘generational talent’ by Man United legend Ryan Giggs, Gabriel has been tipped for a bright future at Old Trafford.
Excitement only grew last week, when the teenager scored a hat-trick on his UEFA Youth League debut for the Red Devils’ U19s.
However, just five days on from his stunning exploits, Gabriel has now sent a formal notice to cancel his registration with the club.
The youngster wants to become a free agent, with Man United unclear on what has prompted the surprise decision.
talkSPORT understands the club are still hopeful of buying enough time to resolve the issue, but that the young star is pushing to leave as soon as possible for a new challenge.
While nothing formal is currently lined up, it’s understood Gabriel has interest from Premier League rivals Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea – with talkSPORT reporting the latter’s last month.
Spanish and German sides are also interested – namely Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have both made pitches for several months, with interested clubs being told Gabriel was unhappy during pre-season.
Premier League rivals keen
talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook discussed the shock news regarding Gabriel with Hawksbee and Jacobs, and he insisted United must do all they can to hold onto the youngster,
He began: “This is not a massive surprise to me…
“The messaging coming out of United was that they were confident of securing his future despite whispers coming from Chelsea.
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“Also, clubs on the continent, Arsenal, Manchester City as well. Now we hear that he’s asked to leave…”
Chelsea’s interest in Gabriel comes despite the club currently serving a nine-month academy transfer ban for breaching Premier League rules on payments to agents.
However, with the embargo coming into effect in March earlier this year, the Blues have just three months left to serve of this, while it’s understood that United are not currently able to de-register Gabriel, who has a contract until next summer.
A move to one of the El Clasico clubs is seen as a viable one for Gabriel.
Crook: Losing Gabriel will spark concern
Crook has insisted it will come as a huge blow to United if Gabriel were to eventually leave for Chelsea – or indeed any of their rivals.
He pointed to the Red Devils’ rich history of developing home grown talent, which includes the legendary Class of 92, as well as current first team stars Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo.
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Crook continued: “If he were to leave, it would raise questions again of how the club is being run.
“You look at the history of Man United, the DNA, it’s all about the young, homegrown talent bursting into the first team.
“If one of their own decides that his future is better served, particularly somewhere like Chelsea, that’s a real kick in the face.”
Crook added: “You think not just about the patience of it, but the people around them and how much of this is being led by JJ Gabriel’s advisors, his family, and how much is his own doing.
“What he did do, and this is quite common now, is he deleted all reference of Man United on his social media, so I guess the writing was on the wall when he did that.”
United’s transfer market struggles highlighted
Continuing to highlight the importance of keeping Gabriel, Crook insisted United must be able to hold onto their homegrown talent, given their recent struggles in landing top transfer targets.
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The Red Devils lost out in the battle to sign Elliot Anderson this summer, who instead joined rivals Manchester City for £116million.
On Gabriel, Crook explained: “I think they feel as if time is on their side. United don’t have to accept the request… they have no intention of doing that.
“But clearly, the reason this has happened now is because of the interest from other clubs – Chelsea are certainly one who are keen, Bayern Munich over in Germany too.
“He’s so good that he’s going to have his pick of the teams.
“This is a difficult battle for Man United, but I think optically, it’s one that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have to win because Man United can’t attract top senior players anymore, Elliot Anderson for a prime example.
“If they start losing their best young players to Premier League rivals as well, then I think that’s a really bad look for Ratcliffe and the Glazers.”