Playing for the first time at Old Trafford, JJ Gabriel looked every bit at ease, scoring the only goal of the game to send Manchester United into the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.
Gabriel sized up the lay-off from Nathaniel-Junior Brown, after a sharp turn and cross by Jariyah Shah, and opened his body to sidefoot the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the 18-yard box. It was a shot of precision and speed.
He set off on a knee-slide celebration in front of the 1,378 crowd, many of whom would doubtless have turned up on Tuesday hoping to see a goal from this young talent attracting such a buzz.
Gabriel has been a key member of Darren Fletcher’s under-18s side this season, despite playing three years up. He has now scored 10 goals in 11 games, including a hat-trick of supreme quality in the 7-0 demolition of Liverpool at the end of November.
JJ Gabriel in the recent under-18s game against Liverpool, where he scored a hat-trick (Poppy Townson – Manchester United via Getty Images)
And yet, at kick-off in last night’s FA Youth Cup tie against Peterborough United, Gabriel was only 15 years, two months and three days old, making him the youngest Manchester United player to ever feature in the competition, according to online database Transfermarkt. Omari Forson had been 15 years, four months and 23 days when he played in December 2019.
United will have to search their own records for confirmation, but it is safe to say Gabriel stands out in the club’s long history of academy development.
Playing in the Youth Cup at such an age is rare, no matter the club, because until last season, the Football Association (FA) had a lower limit of being 15 years old by September 1 of the season involved. The FA then removed the rule, meaning Max Dowman, for instance, could play in the competition for Arsenal in January at 15 years and 18 days.
Dowman later faced United at the Emirates Stadium in the quarter-finals in February, on the night Gabriel travelled with the visitors while aged just 14. His presence was notable as he warmed up with his older team-mates before watching them win 3-2 after extra time, a sign of the esteem in which he is held at the club.
At their training complex, he is regarded as the best player in the country to be born in 2010 and has earned comparisons to Phil Foden of Manchester City and England with the way he takes the ball on the turn. Gabriel himself grew up with a fondness for Neymar, and he certainly carries a particular grace on the pitch reminiscent of the Brazilian when he broke through.
Gabriel’s trip to north London for that Arsenal match nine months ago came during a period when his future was up in the air, the summer just gone being a point in his academy life when, according to the regulations, he could have left United. At one stage, his exit appeared inevitable.
He made three Under-18 Premier League appearances while still 14 last season, scoring three goals, but at the start of the summer, he and his family informed United they were planning to move on and thanked people at the club for all they had done. Neighbours City were among the teams seriously interested. Europe’s top sides are tracking him.
But United organised an emergency meeting in June, the day after Gabriel returned from holiday, and were able to change his mind. Matt Hargreaves, United’s director of negotiations, made an important intervention, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, presented the pathway and aims of the club. That renewed care and clearer plan swung matters.
Gabriel and his father, Joe O’Cearuill, who guides and coaches his son, were invited to watch the opening Premier League game of the season against Arsenal from the Old Trafford directors’ box. Joe, a former professional himself with two senior appearances for the Republic of Ireland, spent the 2006-07 season at Arsenal, training with the likes of Jack Wilshere and being in the squad for Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial game in July 2006, which marked the official opening of the Emirates.
JJ Gabriel was also on target for the under-18s against their Middlesbrough counterparts this season (Anthony Devlin/Manchester United via Getty Images)
The youngster was in the directors’ box again for the visit by West Ham United last week, meeting Sir Alex Ferguson, and he has also had more meaningful interactions with the current United head coach. More than once, he has trained with Ruben Amorim’s first-team squad, holding his own due to his tight control and two-footedness, and captain Bruno Fernandes has been especially welcoming, calling Gabriel by his name and chatting to him.
Having tried to shield Gabriel from too much outside attention as he progressed through the age groups, United released photographs for the first time of him training with the senior side at the end of November, including one in an Instagram carousel advertising kit offers for Black Friday, marking a shift in approach.
Gabriel and his family are happy in the new academy setup led by Steve Torpey, and appreciate Fletcher’s coaching, which leans into his experience as a top-level player with United and Scotland’s national team.
That bond with Fletcher could be seen at Old Trafford on Tuesday. Twice in the game, he had one-to-one conversations with Gabriel during breaks in play, a reasonable guess being that they discussed his positioning. At one point, midway through the first half, Fletcher called for Gabriel to “Come higher, JJ”, as he occupied a pocket of space in midfield while United built from the back. Gabriel is viewed as an attentive learner.
Travis Binnion, United’s under-21s lead coach, also offered advice from the dugout, shouting for Gabriel to fall back into formation after being tackled late on, having earlier praised him for a dribble where he wriggled clear of two opponents.
Gabriel’s balance and ability off either foot are special, allowing him to open up passing angles that otherwise would not be available.
Against Peterborough last night, playing as a No 10, he often had his back to goal while twisting and turning on the ball, and rather than pass back with his right, he passed forward with his left.
Before the break, he produced a one-touch flick through an opponent’s legs that drew a gasp from the crowd and a clattering from the player he had beaten. In the 72nd minute, he dropped deep to receive a great pass from goalkeeper Cameron Byrne-Hughes in the centre circle, then ghosted past Lucca Mendonca, before beating him again and hitting a shot from outside the box that went over.
Having expended his energy, Gabriel was replaced late on by Rafe McCormack, with Peterborough finishing the game strongly. He is still growing, of course, and plays with some associated problems in his knees. He can be more efficient with his output in matches, too.
Naturally, for a boy who has yet to enter his GCSE year, there are moments against older, more developed players, where physicality comes into effect.
That is partly why Fletcher has tried him at No 9 this season, so he got on the ball close to the box, in areas where his skill in tight spaces shines brightest. Some of his goals have been marvellous combinations of quick dribbles and sharp shooting. It is expected he will cement a position at No 10 in the coming years, however.
Though he has a slender physique, Gabriel is tough.
In October last year, he dislocated his shoulder in the seventh minute of a game against Blackburn Rovers in the Floodlit Cup, but he popped it back in, stayed on for the whole game, and scored a hat-trick. That injury required surgery, which kept him out for five and a half months, and probably delayed his debut for the under-18s.
Aged six, having never done keepy-uppies, he learned how to do 1,000 in a row within a week. He has since done 10,000 consecutively, which takes around an hour, and a lot of mental strength to push through fatigued legs and eyes.
That innate talent was spotted during a youth game when Gabriel was nine by YouTuber SV2, who asked to shoot some skills videos with him. One of those, made six years ago, has now attracted 29 million views, although it comes with the “Kid Messi” nickname Gabriel is keen to shed.
That online fame permeated real life, with Gabriel growing accustomed to posing for pictures. He attended the United Under-21s’ game against Belgian visitors Anderlecht at Leigh Sports Village last week with his father, and was asked for dozens of selfies.
Joe changed the family surname from O’Cearuill to Gabriel, in recognition of his and his wife’s religious beliefs and because his given name carried little meaning to him.
His son, born in London, had spells at Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham, and was first spotted by United aged seven after a Manchester Cup game. Scouts from City, Liverpool and Everton queued up to speak to him, with United’s representative being Gaz Thomas. The family visited United and met Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But Gabriel only signed for United two years later, after his family moved to Manchester when he was nine. Luke Fedorenko, who is leaving as the club’s head of academy recruitment, oversaw the deal.
Aged 11, Gabriel signed his United contract alongside Cristiano Ronaldo Junior and the two became close friends. This year, he put his name to a boot sponsorship deal with Nike after Adidas courted his signature for many months. Gabriel has been with Nike a long time, using the same model boots that Neymar played in. They served him well on his first appearance at Old Trafford on Tuesday, which was watched in the stands by Torpey, Hargreaves and the club’s director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell.
His knee-slide goal celebration is reminiscent of Thierry Henry’s, who was at Arsenal at the same time as his dad. He often does the shoulder-shrug one that United colleague Bryan Mbeumo performs – albeit he started doing it as a kid. In that game against Liverpool, he chose to mimic their new striker Alexander Isak’s hand-flick celebration, but he has been advised against doing something like that again, however innocent, given the possibility for aggravation.
People close to United advocate patience with Gabriel. The road from academy star to senior professional can be complicated.
At the moment, though, he is on a fast track.
