JJ Gabriel has turned down the chance to link up with the England U16 side later this month.
Manchester United’s young academy star was named in the England U16s squad to take on Italy in a pair of friendlies next week.
But Gabriel’s father has confirmed that the youngster won’t be attending the England camp.
The 14-year-old’s father said on X, “JJ not going he staying with u18 at United.”
A former player himself, Gabriel’s father Joe O’Cearuill was once signed by Arsenal and was capped on the international stage by the Republic of Ireland.
Club over Country
It has been decided that remaining with United would be more beneficial to Gabriel’s development than attending the England U16 matches.
If Gabriel was to link up with England, he would have missed United’s U18 Premier League Cup match vs Brighton next week along with potentially the league match against Derby County.
Despite still being eligible for U15s level, Gabriel has been promoted to a full-time member of Darren Fletcher’s U18 side.
He has started the campaign with an impressive performance in a 0-1 victory away to Everton.
Making his U18s debut last season, Gabriel scored three goals in three substitute appearances including a brace against Leeds United.
Training with the first team
Gabriel’s scintillating performances have already caught the eye of Ruben Amorim.
The first team manager was pictured with the young academy star this week amidst news that he will train with Amorim’s first team at times this season.
The effort the club has put into retaining the youngster after rumours circulated in the summer points to how highly he is rated within United with fans clamouring for him already at his tender age.
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Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
