Barcelona launches bold pursuit of Manchester United’s teenage prodigy JJ Gabriel

Background

Newspaper reports reveal that Barcelona are moving decisively to sign JJ Gabriel, a rising star from Manchester United's academy and one of England's brightest young talents.

Gabriel, only 15, is the academy's most talked-about talent after scoring 10 goals in 10 Under-18 appearances this season, and he struck a hat-trick in a 7-0 victory over Liverpool last weekend.

According to The Sun, Barcelona are making every effort to persuade him to move to La Masia, the world’s most famous academy, in a bid to snatch him from United before he signs a professional contract.

Latest developments

The newspaper adds that Manchester United’s football director, Jason Wilcox, has played a pivotal role in convincing Gabriel’s family to keep him at the club for this season and next.

United officials believe Wilcox’s intervention showed the family how respected the player is at the club, boosting confidence that he could be retained despite Barcelona’s overtures.

Manchester United published photos of Gabriel training with the first team for the first time last week, and coach Ruben Amorim held a private meeting with the player and his family.

His temporary promotion to senior training came last Thursday because the under-21s had a closed game on Friday, ahead of a youth international against Anderlecht.

Gabriel himself indicated on Instagram in October that he had trained with the first team, and Amorim explained: "Like everyone, I know he is incredibly talented, and the world saw him on social media. We needed players in training, and we picked the most talented ones. Not only to see him, but to let him feel what it means to train with the first team, the tough sessions, and the speed of our defenders."

He added: "Every training session can be used to show the path for these youngsters; this matters not only for JJ, but for everyone."

Despite having already featured for United’s youth teams since age 14, United has not yet added Gabriel’s profile to its official academy page.

What’s next

Gabriel joined United at the age of ten and appeared in a "presenting him" photo beside Cristiano Ronaldo Jr during Ronaldo’s time at the academy in 2022.

Gabriel is expected to make his Old Trafford debut when United begin their FA Youth Cup campaign at Peterborough on Tuesday, under former striker Darren Fletcher, who heads the Under-18s.

Punchline 1: If Barcelona signs him, they’ll need La Masia’s calendar to handle all the hype—and yes, the crowd will age faster than the contract clauses.

Punchline 2: If he stays with United, the club can always say, with a straight face, that they gave him a chance to grow—then let the photo filters do the talking.