Race for super talent heats up! Bayern Munich target already on site at top club
Bayern Munich will probably have to pull out all the stops in their pursuit of JJ Gabriel from Manchester United if they are to get the deal done. The wonderkid is said to be with another top club in person in the coming days.
Consistent reports in the English and Spanish media say the 15-year-old is in Barcelona with his family to get a feel for a possible new home.
Sky Sports go even further. They report advanced talks with Barca, although arch-rivals Real Madrid are also said to be in that position. Bayern Munich and PSG have also recently been credited with major interest in Gabriel, but the Spanish giants are said to hold the edge.
Newspaper Bild reports that Bayern have already been in contact with the teenager and those around him since February. Bastian Wernscheid, assistant to board member for sport Max Eberl, is said to be playing a central role. A personal meeting is also said to have already taken place. Sporting director Christoph Freund, however, remained tight-lipped when asked. "I do not talk about players who are under contract at other clubs. We know the player because he is very, very talented - an exceptional talent. But I cannot say any more about it," he said on Friday, denying any current exchange with the player's side.
Alongside the huge competition in the race for Gabriel, international transfer rules also present an obstacle to any potential deal. As an Englishman, the highly talented forward would in principle only be allowed to move to a European club and play there as a professional from his 18th birthday, which would also be a problem for Real or Barca. However, there is a way around that. Because his father is from Ireland and his mother has Cypriot roots, the youngster could secure an EU passport.
Why are Manchester United not keeping JJ Gabriel?
Gabriel no longer appears to have a future at Manchester United. As the Telegraph recently reported, he is said to be determined to leave the Red Devils and has even asked for his registration with the club to be cancelled. The move is said to have caused "shock" at United and to be "almost unprecedented", it was said.
Still only young, Gabriel has already built a reputation as a super talent. He has been at Manchester United since the age of 11 and scored 23 goals in 23 Under-18 matches last season. That is why he was also voted the best player in the Under-18 Premier League. In August, he also made his professional debut and became the youngest United player in the club's history in the first team.
Most recently, Gabriel drew attention again on the pitch: on his debut in the UEFA Youth League, he scored three goals in the 5-0 home win against Sabah. Afterwards, according to the Telegraph , he is said to have removed all posts related to Manchester United from his social networks.
