Carrick urges caution as 15-year-old prodigy JJ Gabriel pushes to leave Manchester United

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has called for careful handling of the JJ Gabriel situation after the 15-year-old academy prodigy formally requested to be de-registered from the club, raising the prospect of one of English football’s most coveted young talents leaving Old Trafford.

Gabriel’s request came to light around the time of United’s Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton, a match the teenager had reportedly been in contention to start — which would have made him the club’s youngest ever senior player. Instead, the news of his desire to leave quickly dominated the post-match conversation.

“We have to be a little bit careful on that one. He’s a 15-year-old boy,” Carrick said after the Brighton loss. “It’s more about the welfare, the care and the attention of JJ as a child really. He’s certainly a young man. The situation is what it is, but we have to be careful about the exposure and how much we jump on that.”

Asked whether he was personally involved in discussions about Gabriel’s future, Carrick confirmed the club is engaged at every level. “As a club, for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.”

United are said to have been caught off guard by the request, given the scale of Gabriel’s promise within the academy. He was named Under-18 Premier League Player of the Year last season despite being only 14 when the campaign began, and last week scored a hat-trick on his debut for the Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the clubs understood to be monitoring developments closely. Gabriel holds an Irish passport, which would allow him to move to a club overseas — a key factor given the restrictions that typically apply to international transfers of players under 18.

Despite the formal de-registration request, Manchester United are said to retain hope that the situation can be resolved without Gabriel’s departure, though the club’s ability to keep him may hinge on how swiftly and sensitively the matter is handled in the coming weeks.