‘His time at Old Trafford is over’: Outlet provides bleak assessment of ‘special’ Man Utd star’s future

JJ Gabriel’s Manchester United career looks as good as done before it’s even properly begun.

After the 15-year-old flew in to Catalonia to hold talks with Barcelona chiefs on Friday, Spanish outlet AS claimed: “His time at Old Trafford is over.”

JJ Gabriel: The state of play

It’s a situation that the Red Devils are actively trying to avoid, as they are keen on keeping the highly-rated wonderkid in their ranks long-term.

However, it seems as though Gabriel’s mind is already made up, with the supposed final straw coming after he watched fellow academy prospects Harry Amass and Shea Lacey, both of whom are 19, make their Champions League debuts during last week’s win over Sabah.

Remarkably, he was in line to make his first-team debut less than a week later in United’s Carabao Cup opener against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night, but after refusing to train in the days leading up to the tie, he ruled himself out of any involvement.

Who is interested in signing wantaway Gabriel?

Although Gabriel – hailed as ‘prodigiously talented’ and ‘very special’ by Gary Lineker – and his camp have now met with Barcelona face-to-face, he is actually in line to join Real Madrid over any other suitor.

They are leading the race to land his signature in the coming weeks, so he will presumably also make the journey to the Spanish capital to hear their proposal after Barcelona’s.

In England, Arsenal, Chelsea and even Manchester City are all open to offering Gabriel the chance to stay and eventually play a role in the Premier League.

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