Gabriel's extra training sessions signal intent ahead of Man Utd first-team push

JJ Gabriel is making his ambitions clear this summer, with footage shared by his father showing the Manchester United academy prospect completing extra gym sessions and ball-work drills as he bids to force his way into Michael Carrick’s first-team plans.

Gabriel, who will not turn 16 until October, is already eligible to feature in pre-season friendlies and is expected to be in contention for the early fixtures. He becomes eligible for Premier League appearances next season. His father, Joe O’Cearuill, posted a collage of four videos to social media, one of which showed Gabriel completing 12 minutes of kick-ups with a tennis ball before heading to the gym.

Carrick will have a particular need for young players during the opening weeks of pre-season. Several senior squad members will be absent in July due to World Cup commitments, with United’s first friendly — against Wrexham in Helsinki on July 18, the day before the World Cup final — arriving before many of those players return. Gabriel is among those expected to report for training ahead of that fixture.

The teenager has already trained alongside the first team under both Carrick and his predecessor Ruben Amorim, and a senior debut is described by those close to the club as edging closer.

Fans responding to the social media footage were enthusiastic. “What a player he’s going to be for United, hopefully he will have a statue one day,” one supporter wrote. Another added: “If he has good people around him who value privacy, he’ll go on to challenge for Ballon d’Or.”

Gabriel is not the only United academy player using the summer to prepare. Kai Rooney, whose 2025/26 campaign was disrupted by injury, posted a gym image indicating he has been building muscle ahead of pre-season.

Carrick’s pre-season schedule runs to six fixtures. After the Wrexham game, United face Rosenborg in Trondheim, then play two matches in Sweden — against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on August 1 and European champions PSG in Gothenburg on August 8. They then meet Leeds in Dublin on August 12 before rounding off pre-season against AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland on August 15.