Hat-trick record-breaker JJ Gabriel deletes Instagram as United first-team debut looms

Manchester United academy forward JJ Gabriel has deleted all photos from his Instagram profile, prompting widespread speculation just days after the 15-year-old became the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick for the club in UEFA Youth League competition.

Gabriel netted in the 45th, 85th and 87th minutes of United’s 5-0 victory over Sabah FK Under-19s on Thursday, achieving the milestone at 15 years and 339 days old. The unexplained social media clear-out has only intensified interest in the teenager, who has rapidly become one of the most talked-about prospects at Old Trafford.

The timing is significant. Premier League regulations require a player to have turned 15 on or before 31 August of a given season to be eligible for selection, meaning Gabriel was ineligible last campaign but is now available for the 2026/27 season. Should head coach Michael Carrick hand him a senior appearance before he turns 16 in October, Gabriel would become United’s youngest-ever first-team player.

Carrick was in attendance when Gabriel made his Under-21 debut last month, scoring and providing two assists in a 5-0 win over Ipswich Town. The United manager was effusive in his assessment afterwards. “JJ is one of the boys,” Carrick said. “He’s obviously got a really big talent. He’s trained with us quite a bit. He’s getting experience all the time. He’s physically adapting to each step that he makes, and just continuing his development.”

Gabriel’s pathway to the first team has also been aided by a structural change within the academy. Under-21 head coach Adam Lawrence has switched from a 4-3-3 to mirror Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 system, with the stated aim of ensuring younger players arrive in the senior setup already familiar with their positional responsibilities. The formation change is said to allow Gabriel to develop in the No.10 role associated with Bruno Fernandes, while the Under-21s have also replicated Carrick’s use of a false nine — currently Matheus Cunha in the first team — by deploying Amir Ibragimov in that position.

No explanation has been offered for the Instagram activity, and United have made no official comment. Whether it signals an imminent announcement or simply reflects the private instincts of a teenager navigating sudden fame remains unclear.