Keane urges patience for 15-year-old Gabriel as McKenna watches United's Carabao Cup exit

Roy Keane has urged 15-year-old Manchester United academy prospect JJ Gabriel to be patient after the teenager requested the club cancel his registration, while out-of-work manager Kieran McKenna was present at Old Trafford to watch United’s 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton.

Gabriel, who featured for United during pre-season, was absent from the matchday squad for the Brighton cup tie after making his registration request. Keane, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, was direct in his assessment of the youngster’s stance.

“Are you telling me he can’t wait?” Keane said. “If you are 15 years of age and you’re talking about playing for Man United’s first team, just wait. Can you wait another six weeks if United get through the cup?”

Keane acknowledged that Sir Alex Ferguson was willing to hand young players their debuts but argued the current climate under Michael Carrick demands a different approach. “Carrick’s under pressure,” he said. “United, they need wins right now. I don’t think United are in a position where they go, ‘We can write off a cup game tonight and play a couple of young lads.’ We need to get momentum into the season. If some 15-year-old is spitting his dummy out, we’ll deal with that.”

The cup exit itself was a damaging result for Carrick’s side. United had raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes against Brighton before the Seagulls mounted a comeback to win 3-2 at Old Trafford, piling further pressure on the interim manager ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

Adding intrigue to the occasion was the presence of McKenna, 40, watching from the directors’ box. The Northern Irishman left Ipswich Town in the summer after guiding them to back-to-back promotions into the Premier League and has been without a club since June. McKenna previously served on United’s coaching staff alongside Carrick before taking the Ipswich job in December 2021. United were linked with appointing him as manager two years ago but instead chose to extend Erik ten Hag’s contract at the time.