Keane says United deserve to lose Gabriel after poaching young talent from smaller clubs

Roy Keane has argued Manchester United deserve to lose teenage prospect JJ Gabriel, saying the club cannot complain about losing young talent when they have spent years doing the same to smaller sides.

Gabriel, 15, has requested to leave Old Trafford and is attracting interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. The situation came to a head this week when United had planned to include him in their squad to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup third round — a debut that would have made him the club’s youngest-ever first-team player. That appearance never materialised after his exit request emerged.

Speaking on The Overlap, Keane was blunt in his assessment. “Have United gone and poached 15 and 14-year-old kids from other clubs? Smaller clubs?” the former United captain said. “Then you have to take your medicine. I’m sure United have been doing this the last 20 years with young kids, whether it’d be with Wolves or lesser clubs. [They’d go] ‘We’re taking him.’”.

Concern over Gabriel’s situation first surfaced last week when he deleted all pictures from his Instagram profile without explanation. His desire to leave has since dominated headlines, with Europe’s biggest clubs circling.

United head coach Michael Carrick addressed the matter at his post-match press conference following Wednesday’s defeat to Brighton, urging caution given Gabriel’s age. “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.”

Carrick confirmed the club is actively involved in discussions over the teenager’s future. “As a club for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations,” he said. “I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.”

Gabriel’s potential departure would represent a significant blow to United’s academy, though Keane’s remarks suggest the club’s own recruitment history leaves them with little moral ground to stand on.