Romano gives huge Man Utd update on JJ Gabriel future as ‘most likely destination’ revealed

Fabrizio Romano insists Man Utd “don’t want to force” JJ Gabriel to stay as they continue their attempts to persuade the 15-year-old to stay at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have one of the hottest prospects in world football on their hands in JJ Gabriel with the 15-year-old – who turns 16 next month – talked about as one of the best academy products Man Utd have ever seen.

Gabriel scored a hat-trick in just one half of football as he put his name up in lights during his UEFA Youth League debut against FC Sabah Under-19s.

But, just a few days later, the Daily Telegraph revealed that Gabriel ‘has unexpectedly asked to quit’ at Man Utd as he looks for a better pathway at another club.

The report added: ‘In a move that has shocked United and is almost unprecedented, Gabriel – whose full name is Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel – has sent formal notice that he wishes to cancel his registration at the club with immediate effect to become a free agent.

‘It is understood that Gabriel is not in line to join another club immediately, but has decided he wants to leave United – the club he has played for since the age of 11.’

And Italian transfer insider Romano insists that Man Utd are “still in shock” at Gabriel’s request and their attempts to convince him to stay “will involve the most important people at the club”.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “It’s a really complicated situation from several points of view, because when you have a wonderkid like JJ Gabriel, 15 years old and about to turn 16 in October, obviously you want to keep him. You want to trust him and you want to see the boy after he was already discussed internally at Man United for a long time – years, actually – as one of the best talents they’ve ever seen at the club.

“So they absolutely want to keep him and want to continue with him. They are still in shock with what happened in recent days.

“On the other side, when a player so young, and his camp, of course – his family – decides to take a strong position, as JJ Gabriel and his camp did by asking to leave the club, obviously the disappointment is very strong.

“What United want to make sure is that if there is even a small chance to continue together with JJ Gabriel, to resolve the situation and to keep him at the club, it has to be with the right attitude and the right feeling.

“United don’t want to force anyone. Obviously they want to keep the boy. Obviously they don’t want to lose one of the best talents in the world at 15 years old, but at the same time they don’t want to force anyone.

“What they will do these days is try to have a conversation with the family of the player, with the agents of the player and with the player himself to try to resolve the situation.

“So Man United are not giving up. Man United are still hoping to keep JJ Gabriel at the club. They know and recognise that it’s going to be complicated, that it’s not easy and that, as of today, their chances are not so high, but Man United are still trying.

“I think this case will involve the most important people at the club. I mean Sir Jim Ratcliffe, I mean the directors, I mean the coach. So it’s going to be about everyone at Manchester United to make sure whatever happens is the right situation.

“At the moment, the reality tells us that the player wants to go, the player wants to leave, he wants his contract terminated, and the player is not even training, as I said yesterday here on the video. So you can understand how complicated this situation is.”

JJ Gabriel’s ‘most likely destination is Spain’ if he leaves Man Utd – Romano

Romano understands that Spain would be the “most likely destination” for JJ Gabriel if he does leave Man Utd to continue his career at another club.

He added: “If he leaves, Spain is going to be the most likely destination for JJ Gabriel. Spain – I mean Real Madrid, Barcelona.

“At this stage, if you ask me today, Real Madrid are considered the favourites to land JJ Gabriel. But Barcelona are also in contact.

“In terms of clubs calling, many other top clubs called. Bayern called, PSG called, English clubs called as well.

“There was a feeling until yesterday in the media that maybe England could be the most likely destination. Why? Because Manchester City one year ago were very close to signing JJ Gabriel and then he decided to stay at Manchester United and continue at the club.

“But Man City were really this close to signing JJ Gabriel, so it was not just a conversation or a negotiation. Then he changed his mind at the final minutes and decided to stay at United.

“So my understanding is that now the most likely destination is Spain. Real Madrid and Barcelona are discussing completely different projects and pathways for the boy.

“So obviously it’s going to be on him, on his family and on his camp to decide what’s the best solution.

“But for sure, Spain today is seen as the most attractive destination for the boy, while we wait to understand what’s going to happen, because I can repeat, as of today, Wednesday, Manchester United are yet to give up.

“So it’s a story we have to follow until the very end, with Real Madrid and Barca involved.”