Barcelona make promise to JJ Gabriel after Real Madrid submit offer for Man Utd wonderkid | Football
Barcelona have ‘guaranteed’ JJ Gabriel a speedy path to first-team football as they look to beat Real Madrid in the race to sign the wantaway Manchester United wonderkid.
United’s hierarchy were left stunned last week as Gabriel’s camp asked for the youngster’s registration with the club to be cancelled with immediate effect.
Gabriel, 15, is widely regarded to be among the most exciting emerging talents in the world game having been fast-tracked through United’s youth ranks, regularly competing in older age groups.
It’s understood Gabriel has no intention of signing a professional contract with the Red Devils and the Old Trafford giants have grown increasingly resigned to the teenager’s impending departure.
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Within the Premier League, both Arsenal and Chelsea are believed to be keeping close tabs on the situation, but their interest in Gabriel remains just that for the time being.
European heavyweights Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have also been monitoring developments from afar after being alerted to a possible deal for a potential superstar in the making.
However, Wayne Rooney revealed that it had been something of an open secret at United that Gabriel has favoured a move to Spain earlier this week – and according to SPORT, the battle between Barcelona and Real Madrid is ‘in full swing’.
It’s claimed Gabriel’s entourage have informed both Bayern Munich and PSG that their current ‘priority’ is to join one of Madrid or Barca, and the player himself as a ‘particular fondness’ for the latter.
Madrid’s offer is said to have been ‘significantly higher’ than that tabled by the Catalan giants, though, prompting Barca sporting director Deco to intensify talks with Gabriel’s representative Ali Barat over the last few days.
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Barca, the reigning La Liga champions, are ready to add Gabriel to Hansi Flick’s squad immediately and have ‘guaranteed’ the youngster a sporting project that will likely lead to first-team football ‘very quickly’.
Despite all of this, Madrid president Florentino Perez is yet to give up hope in what has become a fierce tug of war between La Liga’s two bitter rivals, determined not to let Gabriel choose the Camp Nou without a fight.
The report adds that Gabriel’s team are expected to make their decision over the next few days.
The forward, who turns 16 next month, remains registered with United until he end of the current season.
When asked about the speculation surrounding Gabriel, Michael Carrick called for the situation to be handled with care.
‘He’s a young boy, he’s 15 and the biggest thing for me definitely and as a club point of view is looking after our younger players: their welfare, their wellbeing, their exposure,’ the United head coach told reporters after the side’s Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Brighton.
‘I think all of us we’ve got to be really conscious of that, really, in this situation.
‘As a club, for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.’
Though it appears unlikely, former United captain Roy Keane urged Gabriel to strongly consider his future and be patient for his time to shine at the Theatre of Dreams.
Addressing the issue on The Overlap, Keane said: ‘You’re 15 years of age and you’re talking about playing for Manchester United’s first-team… just wait another six weeks!
‘Can you wait another six weeks until we maybe get through the cup? (episode was filmed prior to United’s defeat to Brighton)
‘Carrick is under pressure and we go back to Sir Alex Ferguson, and sometimes we’d throw young lads into the first-team, but United, they need wins.
‘I don’t think United are in a position to go, “We can write off a cup game tonight and play a couple of young lads”, no, they’re going, “We need to get a couple of wins, we need to get momentum into the season”, and if some 15-year-old is spitting his dummy out, we’ll deal with that.’
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