Barcelona, Bayern and Real Madrid circle as Man Utd risk losing JJ Gabriel for free

Manchester United are at serious risk of losing teenage academy forward JJ Gabriel for nothing after the player’s representatives requested a transfer and top European clubs moved to capitalise. Gabriel turned 16 on Tuesday, October 6, a milestone that allows him — as an EU passport holder — to sign a pre-contract with clubs in EU countries.

Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have all registered interest in the forward. Gabriel’s camp did not open contract talks with United before his 16th birthday, effectively closing the window in which the club could have tied him down to a pre-contract on their own terms. The teenager has not reported to United’s Carrington training ground since his representatives first signalled their desire to leave.

Gabriel has also been absent from all of United’s academy fixtures since scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 UEFA Youth League win over Sabah’s under-19s. His absence is particularly notable given that he had been expected to make his competitive first-team debut in United’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion — a match that would have made him the club’s youngest-ever competitive appearance-maker.

The situation was further complicated by a disagreement over his introduction to senior football. Gabriel’s camp had wanted him included in United’s first Champions League squad of the season for the fixture against Sabah, but the club instead selected him for the corresponding Youth League match against the Azerbaijani side’s under-19s and did not register him in their UEFA senior squad submission.

Adding intrigue to the transfer race, Gabriel has spent recent weeks training in Castelldefels, a town approximately 12 miles southwest of Barcelona, fuelling speculation that the Spanish giants may hold an advantage in the pursuit of the highly-rated teenager.