Manchester United’s efforts to keep JJ Gabriel at the club have come under fresh scrutiny after Wayne Rooney said the 15-year-old’s wish to leave should not have caught anybody close to the academy by surprise. Gabriel, regarded as one of the most gifted players in United’s youth ranks, has asked to move on despite the club’s attempts to persuade him to stay, with leading sides across Europe now alert to his position.
Why it landed this week
- Manchester United
- JJ Gabriel
- Wayne Rooney
- Everton
Rooney knows Gabriel through his son Kai, who has played alongside the teenager. The former United and Everton forward said there had long been an expectation that Gabriel could look abroad, particularly towards Spain.
“I have watched JJ develop and he was in Kai’s team,” Rooney said during Stick To United on Disney+. “Anyone around that group knew this might happen. I do not think he is necessarily a huge Manchester United supporter, and there had been talk from when he was 12 or 13 about playing in Spain. It is no surprise to those who have been close to it.”
United have not simply stood aside. Rooney said the club had made every possible effort to keep Gabriel, treating him as a special case because of the level of talent they believe they have on their hands.
He compared that attention with his own time as an outstanding young prospect at Everton, where he felt he was handled differently from other academy players. Rooney accepted United’s position, but said the situation was disappointing given both Gabriel’s ability and his character.
“To be fair to Manchester United, they have done absolutely everything they could to keep him,” Rooney said. “They have probably dealt with him differently because he is such an exceptional player. I understand that because I was in that position at Everton.
“It is disappointing. He is a top player and a lovely lad. You do not know whether things have gone too far, or whether there is still a chance he remains.”
For Rooney, Gabriel’s next challenge would have been senior football, where promising balance, close control and goals at youth level must stand up against a very different weekly test. He believes Gabriel has already shown he can play above his age group and has the football intelligence to understand the game quickly.
Rooney suggested a first-team appearance could have arrived before the end of this season had the teenager remained on course at Old Trafford. That possibility, rather than merely the loss of another academy name, is what makes the episode sting for United.
“His ability and his balance are outstanding, and he has proved he can step up an age group and score,” Rooney said. “The next stage is first-team football, and everything changes there. You never truly know until a player reaches it. But he is a very special talent who understands the game extremely well.
“I would have expected him to make a first-team debut at some point this season, which is where the disappointment comes from.”
Rooney’s broader view was blunt: a club should not attempt to hold on to a player who no longer wants to represent it, whatever his age. Keeping an unhappy youngster, he argued, risks sending the wrong signal to those in the group who are committed to the badge.
“If someone does not want to be at the club, regardless of how old they are, you should not keep them,” he said. “It gives the wrong message to the players who do want to be there.”
