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To watch JJ Gabriel at work inside a near-empty Leigh Sports Village each week feels akin to being given the first look at the next Oscar-winning movie from the back room of your local cinema.
There are only ever a hundred or so in attendance, half a stand is all they open these days, but all of those that go regularly know that Gabriel is destined to take his talents to the very biggest stage.
I have seen Gabriel score on his competitive debut at Old Trafford, netting in front of the Stretford End in the FA Youth Cup to become the club’s youngest scorer in that competition. I was also there when Gabriel dazzled away at Oxford United, which had my colleague Oliver Holt in awe.
I was there when Gabriel scored on his Under 21s debut earlier this season, a stunning scoop over the Ipswich Town goalkeeper from outside the box. And I was there in the rain on Thursday when Gabriel made light work of his UEFA Youth League debut, surpassing Rayan Cherki as the competition’s youngest-ever hat-trick scorer at 15 years and 339 days.
As he scooped the ball out of the net at full-time, he casually strode towards team-mate Yuel Helafu, gave it a toss into the air, and flashed a signature smile. Another record to add to his collection.
Make no mistake – Gabriel is a supreme talent. His 840,000 Instagram followers – more than, for example, the official accounts of Ipswich Town or Coventry City – suggest his ability is widely known.
Manchester United's 15-year-old JJ Gabriel completes his hat-trick for their Under 21s against Sabah in the UEFA Youth League on Thursday
Gabriel became the Youth League's youngest hat-trick scorer, surpassing Rayan Cherki, now of Manchester City
Top executives at Nike, who beat competition from adidas for Gabriel's signature, have had him on their radar as a top-tier talent since he was 10.
It was why in one key meeting they outlined why they believe he is ‘next in line to Cristiano Ronaldo’s throne’ as the face of their 'Mercurial' brand. It was, in Nike’s mind, a safe bet, even before he kicked a ball at Under-18s level.
And yet watching him up close, it really feels like the masses still don’t quite know just what a phenomenon is waiting to be unleashed. The days of watching his artistry in front of a hundred-plus crowd are undoubtedly coming to an end.
‘He’s a scary talent,’ one youth football source raved to me recently.
‘Players cannot get near him, it’s remarkable. He’s got the chance to be one of the best players this country has ever produced,’ said another after Gabriel’s Under 21s debut, where he added a pair of assists to his goal.
One recent training session had £50million summer signing Andrey Santos with hands on his head as he watched Gabriel’s technique in a small-sided drill.
Others such as Bryan Mbeumo, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have been keen to take the 15-year-old under their wing.
‘He’s often with us in training and you can feel and see that he’s got something special,’ Mbeumo said earlier this year. ‘Everything is easy for him. He has a lot of composure in front of goal, he has a good shot, and he’s technically strong.’
But back to Leigh Sports Village and an historic afternoon which put Europe – and United’s top execs – on notice. His first goal was instinctive, the ball ricocheting off a defender after Nathanial Junior Brown’s initial effort, before Gabriel took it on his chest and volleyed in with his right foot.
Gabriel scores the first goal of his hat-trick, a right-foot volley, against Sabah
‘Players cannot get near him, it’s remarkable,' says one youth football source. 'He’s got the chance to be one of the best players this country has ever produced’
His second was even better, with some intricate footwork in the box allowing him to skip inside to pick out the bottom corner after he seemingly evaded everyone to meet Amir Ibragimov’s pass.
Then came the clincher. A ball over the top by Jim Thwaites picked out Gabriel, by now drifting in from the left, who ran clear and lifted it over the goalkeeper. Match ball secured.
It’s a modest set-up at Leigh. Team-sheets are like gold dust – we got just two between a group of seven on Thursday – and there is often a who’s who in attendance in the boxes above.
Michael Carrick is a regular, as is his assistant Steve Holland. Director of football Jason Wilcox and Matt Hargreaves, head of football negotiations, were both there on Thursday, along with recruitment chief Christopher Vivell.
It was Wilcox and Hargreaves that intervened in June 2025 to ensure United didn’t lose one of Europe’s most gifted young players. The meeting, first revealed by Daily Mail Sport, was decisive. The pathway was laid out to Gabriel and his family. The first team, by that stage, were already well aware of the teenager.
Now there are legitimate questions being asked as to whether the 15-year-old should make his first matchday squad with the first team for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Brighton. It's a must. He looks ready.
Gabriel isn’t 16 until October 6 so has ample opportunity to become the club’s youngest-ever player, breaking the record held by goalkeeper David Gaskell, who was 16 years and 19 days old when he debuted for United in 1956.
So, just how difficult, or scary, is it to have the responsibility of coaching a player many inside United believe is destined to become world class?
‘He’s often with us in training and you can feel and see that he’s got something special,’ Bryan Mbeumo (second left) has said of Gabriel
Only days ago United legend Ryan Giggs called Gabriel a ‘generational talent’
‘It’s my job not to ruin him,’ said Under 21s boss Adam Lawrence, who will also manage the Under 19s in the Youth League, on Thursday. ‘When you have a talented player like JJ and the other lads, of course, you don’t want to stifle their freedom and their creativity.
‘I try to set the team up to allow the talent to function and to play free at the right moments. It's enjoyable working with him and challenging as a coach because the best players challenge you – in a good way. Of course there’s things he can keep working on, but he's in a real good place.’
The noise around Gabriel is relentless. Overnight there were questions asked why he had wiped his Instagram account clean. Those close to him insist it’s merely to remove any distractions from his game.
Only days ago United legend Ryan Giggs called Gabriel a ‘generational talent’. Rio Ferdinand simply called Gabriel’s talent ‘ridiculous’ to comprehend.
Others, who don’t speak to those he works with each day, sometimes bring up attitude as a negative. But having spoken to coaches right through the academy, a set-up Gabriel joined at the age of nine, they are effusive in their praise. The criticism couldn’t be further from the truth.
'JJ's an amazing talent and his enthusiasm for football, that he brings to the pitch every day to learn, want to play, be on the ball, he's been a pleasure to work with,’ Under 18s boss Darren Fletcher told me last season.
‘He’s a fantastic kid. He's desperate to do better, to improve, to learn. He takes constructive criticism fantastically and I've got a great relationship with him.'
Carrick, too, has a pep in his step when it comes to Gabriel, describing the young teen as ‘one of the boys’.
‘It’s my job not to ruin him,’ Under 21s boss Adam Lawrence says. ‘When you have a talented player like JJ, you don’t want to stifle their freedom and their creativity'
‘He’s a fantastic kid,' says Under 18s boss Darren Fletcher. 'He's desperate to do better, to improve, to learn. He takes constructive criticism fantastically'
Sir Jim Ratcliffe even made sure to see this burgeoning superstar for himself in a Premier League Cup match at Carrington last season. Naturally, Gabriel scored that day, too.
It was Ratcliffe that once said he wants United to produce their own superstars, their own Kylian Mbappe, rather than going out to sign the finished article. There is no doubt in my mind they’ve got one in the building.
'It's not for us to create robots here,' academy director Stephen Torpey told me in a chat at Carrington back in March. 'It's for us to allow individuals to flourish and express themselves.'
The joy of watching Gabriel is that he tries things, and can do things with the ball, that others cannot. A refreshing antidote to the ‘robots’ we can often see in the Premier League. It feels inevitable that Gaskell’s record will be shattered in the weeks ahead.
