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“Total shock” – Romano reveals Man Utd already laying first-team plans for sensational teenager
Sep 12 2026 06:48 · By onefootball.com · 4 Reads
After scoring thrice on his UEFA Youth League debut, JJ Gabriel might soon find himself featuring for Manchester United’s first team.
The Premier League giants marked their return to the Champions League with a 4-0 victory over Sabah at Old Trafford.
Earlier in the day, the two clubs’ U19 sides had met at the Leigh Training Centre for a Youth League contest, and it proved to be even more one-sided than the senior game.
JJ Gabriel scores a hat-trick on Youth League debut
(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The young Red Devils only needed just over a minute to break the deadlock through Amir Ibragimov, before doubling their lead thanks to Jacob Watson.
Afterwards, Gabriel took over, scoring Man Utd’s third before the interval. He then went on to add two late goals to become the youngest MUFC player to score a hat-trick in the competition.
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the 15-year-old has been leaving United officials in awe, so the management is vigilantly plotting how and when to start involving him with the first team.
“JJ Gabriel is probably the biggest topic at Manchester United right now when it comes to young talents, and not only now. They have a gem in their hands,” said the transfer market expert in the latest video uploaded on his official YouTube channel.
“Imagine, he’s just 15 years old. Soon he will turn 16, and then obviously this is going to be an important moment in deciding his future.
“It’s going to be important to see how Manchester United manage JJ in terms of involving him in the first team in official games,” added Romano.
“That’s going to be an important topic because everyone at Manchester United, when they speak about JJ Gabriel, is in total shock at how good this boy is. So obviously, his pathway is going to be absolutely important in order to understand more about JJ.”
Will Gabriel make his Man Utd senior debut this season?
Despite his tender age, Gabriel has already been promoted to Man Utd’s U21 side this summer, currently playing with and against players who are at least three years his senior.
Moreover, the talented attacker has been occasionally training with the first team since Ruben Amorim’s reign.
Gabriel has also been listed on Michael Carrick’s first-team squad at the start of the season, suggesting that his official senior debut could be on the horizon after featuring in a friendly contest against Atletico Madrid in the summer.
The striker has been virtually unstoppable at the youth level, so the entire fanbase is eager to see how he’ll fare at the top level, but Carrick and the technical staff must be very careful in this process, as Gabriel’s outrageous dribbling could draw reckless challenges from any enraged markers, while his slender body might not be able to sustain it.
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