1 day Ago By Callum McAvoy
Is JJ Gabriel the next Man Utd wonderkid? (Photo: Twitter)14-year-old JJ Gabriel has been labelled a ‘future star’ by Marcus Rashford after his goalscoring heroics in the Manchester United academy.While the United first-team are enduring an awful season in the Premier League, there is much excitement surrounding the next generation of Red Devils.17-year-old Chido Obi-Martin has already made several senior appearances under Ruben Amorim and is tipped to become ‘one of the best players in the world’ after scoring for fun at youth level.
But another teenage striker playing above his age level is beginning to catch the eye with Gabriel recently fast-tracked into the Under-18 side.He made his debut for the youth team on Saturday against rivals Leeds United, coming off the bench in the 63rd minute, and in doing so became the youngest player to appear for the United U18s.Get personalised updates on Manchester United every dayWake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. And the England youth international couldn’t have marked the occasion any better, scoring twice in a 13-1 demolition.Gabriel is primarily a centre-forward but can play on the left wing and behind the striker and has even earned the nickname ‘Kid Messi’ thanks to his prolific form.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIEfYWCtg1j/?img_index=1‘U18 debut at U14.
2 goals on debut,’ he wrote on Instagram after Saturday’s match and his exploits have certainly not gone unnoticed with several United academy graduates replying to his post.Among them was Rashford, with the forward, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa from United, simply saying: ‘Future star’, with Gabriel thanking the England international for his praise.‘Well done bro, keep pushing,’ Luton Town defender Teden Mengi wrote, while United forward Ethan Wheatley, on loan at Walsall, added: ‘Big time.
’Marcus Rashford graduated from Man Utd’s academy and has gone onto score 138 goals (Photo: Getty)Despite his recent troubles and loan exit, Rashford is the most successful United academy graduate of the past decade, scoring 138 goals in 426 appearances and winning five major trophies.He and Gabriel appear to be close having trained together at Carrington after the former was exiled from the first-team by Amorim.Upon the 27-year-old’s move to Villa Park, the teenager wrote to him on social media: ‘All the best, thanks for taking pens with me other day.
’While a promising talent, it’s a little too early for Gabriel to make his senior United debut with the Red Devils taking on fierce local rivals Manchester City on Sunday.For more stories like this, check our sport page.Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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