JJ Gabriel drops immediate transfer hint after requesting shock Man Utd exit

· Mirror

Manchester United have been rocked by the news that JJ Gabriel wants to leave Old Trafford, with the 15-year-old wonderkid unhappy with his lack of first-team action

Manchester United want-away JJ Gabriel has fuelled rumours over his next move by following a host of Real Madrid players on social media. Gabriel, 15, has requested to leave United in a decision which has stunned those at Old Trafford.

The forward - whose full name is Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel - is understood to have formally notified officials that he wants to cancel his registration with immediate effect and become a free agent. It remains to be seen whether United will accept his request or try and resolve the situation.

Gabriel has been with the Red Devils since the age of 11 and his impressive performances at academy level have earned him comparions to both Lionel Messi and Neymar. But the wonderkid could join Messi's old rivals, Real Madrid, if he gets his wish and leaves United.

The Spanish giants are keen on beating arch rivals Barcelona to the signing of Gabriel and the player's social media activity is a potential hint towards his stance. His Instagram account shows him following that of Real, their academy and La Liga as well as several members of Jose Mourinho's star-studded squad.

Those are Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Thibaut Courtois, Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, Denzel Dumfries, Yan Diomande, Dean Huijsen, Arda Guler and Endrick. Gabriel also follows Real legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.

Due to owning an Irish passport, Gabriel will be eligible to join a team in Europe when he turns 16 next month. English players, in contrast, aren't allowed to go abroad until they turn 18.

The teenager has also deleted every post from his Instagram page. His desire to quit United stems from a lack of minutes at first-team level this season, despite it only being September.

Gabriel's camp are said to have been unhappy after the 15-year-old was left out of Michael Carrick's squad to face Azerbaijani side Sabah in the Champions League last week. Before his request to leave shocked club staff, Gabriel was in contention to feature against Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

But he'll no longer be considered for a debut that would've seen him become United's youngest ever player at senior level. Carrick is on record to be a fan of Gabriel, having witnessed him score and provide two assists against Ipswich in a recent Premier League 2 fixture.

> "He's obviously got a really big talent." the United manager said. "He's trained with us quite a bit and is getting experience all the time. He's physically adapting to each step that he makes, and we're just continuing his development."

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