Real Madrid close in on Man Utd teenager Gabriel as La Liga move nears

JJ Gabriel is on the verge of leaving Manchester United, with Real Madrid emerging as the most likely destination for the 16-year-old who stunned the club last month by requesting a transfer just as he was set to become its youngest-ever first-team player.

Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano has placed a “95 per cent” probability on Gabriel’s departure, saying the move will “probably” take Gabriel to La Liga. Real Madrid and Barcelona are now the two remaining suitors after reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich cooled, leaving the El Clásico rivals to fight it out for his signature. Romano confirmed that both Spanish clubs remain in active talks with Gabriel’s representatives.

Gabriel has not featured for any of United’s teams since submitting his transfer request. Under different circumstances he might have appeared in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday, when United’s under-18s were beaten 3-0 away to Atlético Madrid — hours before the first team suffered a 2-0 defeat to the same opponents in the Champions League.

Although United retain the right to block a move to a Premier League club this season, Gabriel holds an EU passport that opens a clear route to a European destination. Inside Old Trafford, the sense of resignation over his imminent exit is said to be growing. Manager Michael Carrick, asked last week whether anything had changed during the international break, replied simply: “Nothing’s changed at all.”

Carrick has broader concerns to manage ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leeds. United sit 13th in the Premier League table with a single win from their opening six matches, and the manager has been holding clear-the-air talks with Lisandro Martínez after the Argentine defender made pointed public comments about the club’s hierarchy, including director of football Jason Wilcox.

Martínez has since issued an apology, and Carrick addressed the episode at his pre-match press conference. “I think he’s released his statement and he’s realised he’s made a mistake,” the manager said. “I understand emotion at times. We ask for fire and players to care, but there is a way of doing that, which has been acknowledged. We need to carry that intensity and spirit and use that.”