United’s stance on promoting red-hot JJ Gabriel up the age-group ladder revealed – report

Manchester United fans cannot wait to catch a glimpse of JJ Gabriel playing for the first team. The 15-year-old has been on fire for United’s U18 side, netting 20 times in 22 matches, while also providing three assists. His form had caught former head coach Ruben Amorim’s eye, who had invited him to senior training on numerous occasions. Caretaker head coach Michael Carrick has continued that trend since taking charge. However, due to his age, he is ineligible to make his Premier League debut this campaign. The FA Cup would have allowed him to play, but the Red Devils could not make it past the Brighton hurdle. Why JJ Gabriel has not been promoted Interestingly, the England U16 international has not played for United’s U21 team this season either, despite his obvious talent. Now, The Manchester Evening News has revealed the reason why. Since JJ Gabriel was 14 at the start of the season, United would have been fined if the teenager would have played for Adam Lawrence’s side. Which is why the decision was made at the start of the season that the versatile attacker would exclusively represent Darren Fletcher‘s U18s this term. “Manchester United are not playing JJ Gabriel in the Under-21s this season because he was 14 when the campaign began. Won’t be long before fans see JJ Gabriel playing for the first team “Gabriel has been in excellent form at Under-18 level, and fans have questioned why the exciting teenager hasn’t been given minutes in the higher age bracket. “United could have been fined for playing Gabriel in the U21 team due to his age at the start of the season, so it was agreed before the campaign that he would exclusively play U18 football.” United’s first team coaches have been raving about JJ Gabriel, and it is clear that should he continue to develop at this pace, he is bound to make the pre-season squad. And who knows? A full debut could be on the cards next season, and in the process, he might become the club’s youngest-ever debutant. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25