England drop 15-year-old JJ Gabriel from youth squads amid his Man Utd exit push

JJ Gabriel will not represent England at any youth level during the current international break, days after the 15-year-old Manchester United academy player formally requested to leave Old Trafford.

The Football Association has been assessing whether Gabriel is in the right physical and mental condition for international duty, according to reports. The teenager has previous caps for England at Under-17, Under-16 and Under-15 level, but will play no part in any of the upcoming fixtures across those age groups.

Gabriel’s situation at United escalated sharply this week. The club had planned to include him in their squad for the Carabao Cup third-round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday, a match that would have made him United’s youngest-ever first-team player at 15. That appearance did not materialise after his transfer request emerged. Concern had already been building after Gabriel deleted all pictures from his Instagram profile last week, with no explanation offered at the time.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have all been linked with a move for the teenager, underlining the scale of interest in one of English football’s most coveted young talents.

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick addressed the situation at his post-match press conference following the Brighton defeat, urging caution over how the story is handled publicly.

“He’s a young boy, he’s 15, and for me, definitely, and from a club point of view, is looking after our younger players, their welfare, their well-being, their exposure,” Carrick said. “I think we’ve got to be really conscious of that in this situation.”

Asked whether he is personally involved in conversations about Gabriel’s future or leaves those discussions to club executives, Carrick added: “As a club for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.”

Gabriel also holds international eligibility for the Republic of Ireland through his father and for Cyprus through his mother, meaning his long-term international allegiance remains unresolved alongside his club future.

Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 side, who are not directly involved in Gabriel’s situation given his age, face Kazakhstan, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland in their final three UEFA Under-21 European Championship qualifiers, with a place at next summer’s finals in Albania and Serbia on the line.