Highly talented youngster, JJ Gabriel has joined Michael Carrick's Manchester United first-team training during pre-season.
The 15-year-old trained with the first team on Monday as the chances of his debut are increasing. The youngster didn't travel for United's fixture against Wrexham which saw the Red Devils lose 1-0 at the hands of former Cambridge United striker Sam Smith.
When Could JJ Gabriel Make His Manchester United Debut?
Following his exclusion from the first pre-season friendly, Gabriel is expected to travel to take on Rosenborg on Friday 24th July.
With pressure from other clubs around the world looking at winning Gabriel's signature, Man United and Michael Carrick are looking at integrating him in the first team as soon as possible to retain the highly talented youngster.
Carrick displayed his trust in academy players after making wholesale changes at half-time against Wrexham to give young players minutes and a chance to impress. Carrick is expected to do the same later in the week against Rosenborg and this could give Gabriel his first-team debut in pre-season.
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Michael Carrick Explains JJ Gabriel's Development Plan
"He's doing really well, JJ. We've got some really good young players in the academy and we try and get the younger players up [with the first team] as much as we can. We're always trying to give that exposure to the players to come and train and feel it."
Carrick turned to the future and spoke on his integration to the first team: "JJ is a big talent, it's pretty obvious to know that and he's had a really good season for the U18s.
He added: "We obviously think an awful lot of him, but patience is important in managing everything that comes with that and working with him in development as we do with all the different younger players and picking the right moment to step up.
"What he's done when he's trained, he's done well, as you'd expect, and it's good to have the younger players come up with us."
Why Europe's Biggest Clubs Want JJ Gabriel
Football is played on grass but some stats you see on paper tell an awful lot. Gabriel scored 23 goals in 23 league appearances for United's U18s last season. He also picked up the U18 Player of the Season award ahead of seven other nominees, and the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year.
His fantastic return has seen Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, all looking at the striker but England's brightest young talent will be integrated to the Red Devils' pre-season squad so other clubs will need a lot of tempting to relocate Gabriel.
Gabriel hasn't signed a scholarship as he is just 15 years old, so the next season will be a drastic show of his development after such a good campaign with the U18ss.
