Keane tells Man Utd to ignore Gabriel transfer request as Carrick needs wins

Roy Keane has told Manchester United to set aside the transfer request lodged by 15-year-old academy forward JJ Gabriel and concentrate on turning around their poor start to the season under manager Michael Carrick.

United were caught off guard when Gabriel submitted a request to leave the club this week, particularly as plans had already been made to include him in the matchday squad for Wednesday’s 3-2 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion. Had he appeared off the bench, Gabriel would have become the youngest player ever to represent the club.

Speaking on The Overlap, Keane was characteristically direct. “Carrick’s under pressure. Obviously, Ferguson, we go back and sometimes you’d throw lads into the first team, but United they need wins,” he said. “I don’t think United are in the position to go ‘We can write off a cup game tonight and play a couple of young lads’. No, we need to get some wins, we need to get some momentum into the season and if some 15-year-old is spitting his dummy out, we’ll deal with that.”

Despite the request, United remain confident the situation can be resolved while time remains on Gabriel’s contract. The teenager cannot be de-registered from the club at present, though he will be free to explore moves abroad once he turns 16 next month, a process made easier by his possession of an Irish passport.

Carrick addressed the matter after the Brighton defeat, urging caution given Gabriel’s age. “I just think we’ve got to be really careful of the whole situation,” he said. “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.”

The United manager reinforced that message when asked again, framing the issue primarily as one of duty of care. “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 on that one.”

Gabriel has yet to make an official first-team appearance, though he featured for Carrick’s side during pre-season. He has been a regular presence in senior training sessions after an outstanding Under-18s campaign last season in which he scored 26 goals in 29 matches.