Manchester United have two weeks to convince JJ Gabriel that his future lies at Old Trafford as the teenage star tries to force a move to a European rival.
Gabriel’s 16th birthday is in 14 days’ time on October 6, when he can be legally represented by an agent and join a foreign club using his Irish passport. He has already held talks with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
United still hope the issue can be resolved and they can persuade Gabriel and his family that they are the right club for him.
The Old Trafford hierarchy are refusing to bow to Gabriel’s demand to rip up his registration and leave as a free agent – a move that could earn the club just £300,000 in compensation for a player who might soon be worth millions.
If United insist on keeping him until the end of the season, the 15-year-old could launch an appeal to the Premier League or even FIFA.
Because of his age, it would be difficult for United to stop his family from relocating to Spain or another European country, particularly if they can make a convincing argument it is being driven by a business opportunity unrelated to football and not because clubs are offering them a financial inducement.
JJ Gabriel’s 16th birthday is in 14 days’ time on October 6, when he can be legally represented by an agent and join a foreign club using his Irish passport
The Old Trafford hierarchy are refusing to bow to Gabriel’s demand to rip up his registration and leave as a free agent
FIFA regulations also include specific criteria over a young player’s education, but there are ways around those rules such as home-schooling.
Given that Gabriel has not been seen at United for nearly two weeks since scoring a hat-trick in the UEFA Youth League win over Sabah, and there is no expectation that he will be back, the club may be left with little choice but to accept the situation and try to strike the best deal in the circumstances.
Gabriel’s name was still on the bottom of the squad listed in the match programme for United’s Carabao Cup defeat by Brighton last Wednesday – when he could feasibly have become the club’s youngest-ever debutant – but it had been deleted when they played at Fulham on Sunday.
United insiders say the club’s main priority is Gabriel’s welfare, pointing out that the club still have a duty of care while he remains their player.
The youngster is said to be concerned over his pathway at United after he didn’t play for the senior side against Sabah in the Champions League. His family have privately questioned whether the club can match Europe’s top clubs and Premier League rivals like Manchester City and Arsenal by giving him the right environment to maximise his talent.
Gabriel’s camp are believed to have held talks with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain on a trip to Spain and France last week.
Although he cannot formally have an agent until he turns 16, the family can take advice without having formal representation. Ali Barat is believed to have been involved in discussions so far, but he is facing competition from rival super agent Jorge Mendes.
Gabriel was included on the list of United players in the matchday programme for the Brighton game (left), but conspicuous by his absence in the equivalent at Fulham (right)
Gabriel (pictured meeting Lamine Yamal two years ago) has already held talks with Barca and Real Madrid
Ben backed over shin dig
Slovenia defender Jaka Bijol has told Benjamin Sesko to ignore comments from former United stars Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt questioning his shin injury.
United’s £74million striker has had to pull out of the upcoming Nations League games over the problem, which dates back to last season, meaning he won’t have played for his country for more than a year.
The former United duo appeared to cast doubt over Sesko’s injury on their podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Football. Scholes told Sesko: ‘If it isn’t broken, just wear your shinpads.’ Butt added: ‘You’re a player – you either break your shin or you play!’
The comments haven’t gone down well in Slovenia, but Leeds defender Bijol has backed Sesko to rise above it.
‘I hope and believe that Beni knows how to distance himself from this kind of pressure,’ he said. ‘When things aren’t going your best on the pitch and you have certain doubts, reading things like this can make your confidence even worse.
‘He shouldn’t pay too much attention to it, since we all know what quality he has. He himself knows what kind of footballer he is, and I think he always shows it with incredible things on the pitch.’
It isn’t the first time that Scholes and Butt have ruffled feathers among the United squad. In January, Lisandro Martinez challenged Scholes to go round to his house and repeat comments he made before the Manchester derby.
Scholes had joked that Martinez facing Erling Haaland was such a mismatch that the 6ft 5in City striker would pick up the 5ft 9in United defender and throw him in the back of the net.
Slovenia defender Jaka Bijol has told Benjamin Sesko (pictured) to ignore comments from former United stars Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt questioning his shin injury
Tug-of-war over teen ace
Speaking of young players being fast-tracked, Confidential can reveal United’s Under 18s midfielder Jay McEvoy is at the centre of a tug-of-war between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland over his international allegiance.
The 17-year-old, who was recently drafted into first-team training as United look to show him a pathway for his development, is wanted by both nations having represented them in younger age groups.
Both the Irish FA, which looks after Northern Ireland, and the Football Association of Ireland, which governs football in Republic of Ireland, have made pitches to McEvoy and his family.
Confidential has been told Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill is aware of the situation and is set to sit down with the player and his family in the coming weeks in a decisive move to keep him out of the clutches of the FAI.
McEvoy, who has been at United since Under-9s level, has hit form at the right time in recent weeks and is standing out among his peers, leading to United offering him a professional contract.
United, along with the IFA and the FAI, have some convincing to do to show the midfielder and his representatives the long-term direction of travel before he commits on both fronts.
Both Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland are trying to persuade United midfielder Jay McEvoy to represent them
Reds OK as stars dash off
United are comfortable with the security arrangements at Fulham on Sunday after video footage emerged of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha walking through crowds of fans in the busy streets around Craven Cottage.
The United players were bound for international duty and were rushing to catch flights which had been agreed beforehand with their national teams.
Even though Craven Cottage is one of the Premier League’s less intimidating grounds, the volume of fans still outside meant the three players had to be escorted by police and security stewards as they made their way to waiting cars.
United sources have told Confidential the situation was planned because they knew the road directly outside the stadium was closed for an hour after the game, and some players were in a hurry to get away. Rashford later pulled out of the England squad through injury along with his United team-mate Kobbie Mainoo.
Harry’s agent split
Confidential has learned Harry Amass has separated from long-standing agent Jason Mac and joined M+C Saatchi Football, the agency launched in conjunction with Jamie Redknapp.
The 19-year-old failed to secure a move away in the summer, in part due to United not being able to recruit Newcastle’s Lewis Hall or any other left back, as well as uncertainty around whether he would be leaving permanently or on loan. Burnley were among the sides to hold talks over Amass.
The move to Amass’ new agency was made in August but there is some doubt over just how long that arrangement will last, with many determined to take over representation of the United teen.
Multiple agents are circling to try and convince Amass and his family to join their stable of players, with the youngster a January target for teams in the Championship, Germany and the Netherlands.
Amass has found opportunities hard to come by this season despite United being short at left back with Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui all preferred so far by boss Michael Carrick.
Having the right representation will be key to lining up a move – likely a loan – in the January window.
Multiple agents are circling to try and convince left back Harry Amass to join their stable of players
Jose up to his old tricks
When Jose Mourinho turned up for his press conference after losing the Madrid derby on Sunday with ‘evidence’ showing that two Atletico players should have been sent off, Confidential was reminded of the Portuguese coach’s early days at United a decade ago.
Back in 2016, Mourinho asked club staff to discreetly circulate visual evidence to the media of what he saw as unfair refereeing decisions against his team only to be told that is not the way United work.
On this occasion, Mourinho took matters into his own hands after Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat and arrived to speak to the Spanish media armed with printouts of screenshots to back up his claims that Cristian Romero and Lee Kang-in should have been shown red cards in the first half.
There were echoes of his predecessor at Old Trafford, Louis van Gaal, walking into a press conference at Carrington in February 2015 with four pages of statistics challenging Sam Allardyce’s claims that United had played long-ball football in a game against West Ham.
Baleba’s birthday treat
A nice moment on what was a difficult afternoon down at Fulham as £70million summer signing Carlos Baleba, in the matchday squad for the first time, gifted his No 20 shirt to a young fan celebrating his birthday in the away end.
The youngster, lifted up by his dad, was picked out by Baleba, who passed on his jersey in what is the very first of his United career. Talk about setting the bar high for everyone else’s presents!
New stadium edges closer
Today marks another milestone in plans to build a new £2billion stadium to replace Old Trafford as the borough council’s public consultation process over the wider regeneration project formally draws to a close.
The council have held sessions at four venues throughout the local area since they unveiled plans at Old Trafford in July – at Trafford Town Hall, Media City, Gorse Hill Studios and Metro Sports Club – and listened to comments from hundreds of residents as well as many more members of the public who gave their feedback online.
United had representatives in attendance at all the meetings, and the engagement process is said to have been very positive. The council will use the feedback to tweak their masterplan which is expected to create 48,000 jobs and 15,000 new homes, boosting the UK economy by £7.3billion-a-year.
The next step in the process will be for United to consult with fans over the design of the new stadium. The club’s CEO of new stadium development, Collette Roche, said at the council launch in July that the controversial tent design unveiled at Foster + Partners headquarters in London last year is ‘not set in stone’.
