JJ Gabriel leaving Man Utd should worry everyone
JJ Gabriel, 16, looks set to leave Man Utd with Real Madrid and Barcelona circling. Dan on why losing the academy's brightest talent says a lot about the club right now.
It's starting to look like JJ Gabriel has played his last game for us before he's even really started, and I'm gutted about it, because for a lot of United fans he was the one thing in this season we were genuinely excited about.
What's actually happened
For anyone who hasn't kept up, Gabriel is 16, he's an attacking player, and he's been talked about as the best young talent the academy has had in years. According to Sky Sports, he was in the first-team squad photo in September, and a few days later he and his family put in a formal request to leave. He hasn't trained with United since.
Sky say talks have been held between his camp and Barcelona and Real Madrid, with PSG and Bayern also interested. Other reports have Real Madrid as the frontrunners. He's registered with us until the end of the season, and the club has offered him a scholarship contract, but the Mirror's reporting today that he's close to getting his exit sorted.
Source rating: 4 out of 5. Sky Sports have laid out the whole timeline in detail and the Mirror's backing it up, so I'd be surprised if this doesn't happen.
Whose fault is it?
I can see both sides, I really can. From what Sky are reporting, the family wanted guarantees about minutes in certain games, and the club felt the pathway was already there and didn't want to rush him. If that's true, I've got some sympathy with the club, because 16 is very young and we've seen plenty of lads get pushed too fast.
But the thing is, the very best young players get to choose, and this one has looked at us and decided he'd be better off somewhere else. That's what bothers me. Ten or fifteen years ago, a kid like this would never have thought about leaving, because the pathway at United was the best in the world. Now he's got Madrid and Barcelona in his ear, and he's looking at a first team that hasn't won in five games.
Would he have made it here?
Honestly, I think he would have. Everything you hear about him says he's the real deal, and the academy is one of the few things at this club that still feels like proper United. Losing him isn't the end of the world in terms of this season, but it says a lot about how the place looks from the outside right now.
It's been a rough week. If you missed them, here's Martinez going after Jason Wilcox and what happened in Madrid.
Dan's Verdict: you can understand why the club won't bend over backwards for a 16-year-old, but when the best kid in the academy wants out, it's a warning sign.
Should the club have done more to keep him, or is he better off going?