JJ Gabriel enraged by progress of two Man Utd teammates as Roy Keane gets embroiled in exit row
Roy Keane has handed JJ Gabriel some solid advice as the teenager takes his efforts to leave Old Trafford to the next level and with three sides now very much front and centre of the bid to sign the wantaway Manchester United teenager.
The Red Devils were rocked earlier this week when confirmation arrived that Gabriel was looking to quit United and move to another side, with the teenager hoping to use his reputation, where he has earned the nickname ‘Kid Messi’, to secure a move elsewhere.
However, regular readers of TEAMtalk will be familiar with the star’s exit plans, with our sources revealing back on August 13 that fears were growing at Old Trafford that the 15-year-old, who has been training with the first team since the days of Ruben Amorim, was looking to quit.
Now, with the reigning Under-18s player of the year formalising that exit request – and with this report revealing the two key reasons behind the player’s wish to quit– former United skipper Keane has handed Gabriel some timely advice.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap, Keane said: “You’re 15 years of age, and you’re talking about playing for Manchester United’s first-team… just wait another six weeks!
“Can you wait another six weeks until we maybe get through the cup? (Editor’s note ~ the episode was filmed before United’s exit to Brighton).
“Carrick is under pressure,e and we go back to Sir Alex Ferguson, and sometimes we’d throw young lads into the first-team, but United, they need wins.
“I don’t think United are in a position to go ‘We can write off a cup game tonight and play a couple of young lads’, no, they’re going, ‘We need to get a couple of wins, we need to get momentum into the season, and if some 15-year-old is spitting his dummy out, we’ll deal with that.’
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Keane bewildered by JJ Gabriel amid claims star is jealous of two Man Utd teammates
Keane is also bewildered that a 15-year-old can make such first-team demands of United and Carrick, urging the player to look at Kobbie Mainoo to see his chance will come.
“We spoke about Mainoo a few months ago, and Mainoo is a lot older than him, but we were saying that you have to bid your time as a footballer sometimes,” he added.
“I can’t get my head around the fact that they’re 15. I would say that to an 18, 19, 20-year-old.
“We were saying about Mainoo to bide your time, sit on the bench, learn your trade and even sometimes sitting on the bench.
“Now he [Mainoo] has got his chance, and he’s taken it. Be ready. But when they have no patience at 15…”
News of Keane’s advice comes after The Sun alleged that the player’s failure to be fast-tracked into the first team is responsible for the fall-out.
Indeed, they allege that Carrick’s decision to field both Shea Lacey and Harry Amass in United’s Champions League victory over Sabah last week proved to be the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ for Gabriel’s camp.
In response to Keane’s advice, Gary Neville is putting the blame firmly on the player’s father and agent, insisting it is no good for a 15-year-old’s welfare to be putting his son on the back pages of the entire national press.
“The player’s representatives have definitely leaked this. They’ve decided they want to go with the nuclear option and go bang: JJ Gabriel to leave Manchester United,” Neville said.
“That, to me, is my concern. Whose representatives thinks that is good for the kid? That is not good.
“From the point of view of a duty of care for a 15-year-old, a 15-year-old kid this morning is the back-page story of every newspaper in the country. How are you looking after that kid?”
The player’s welfare clearly concerns Carrick, and that is at the heart of the matter for the United boss, who showed his human side with these comments.
“I don’t care if you think he should be playing or not because, to be fair, if you think he should be playing, great. No problem with that; I’m sure lots of parents and representatives think their kid should be playing.
“However, why would you want that leaking out to the papers?”
In light of all this, it was revealed on Thursday night that Real Madrid are now favourites for the player’s signature, though Barcelona have also held talks, while Chelsea lead the English charge.
