Manchester United must not introduce JJ Gabriel to first team action too early despite his impressive development.
That’s the plea made by talkSPORT host Angelina Kelly after the 15-year-old played his first minutes for the senior side in pre-season.
Gabriel came off the bench for Bryan Mbeumo on Saturday as United beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Strawberry Arena in Stockholm.
Although he was brought on with less than ten minutes to go, it saw one of the club’s brightest prospects make his debut.
The teenager joined their pre-season tour after a stunning year in which he was named as the U18 Premier League Player of the Season.
It appears that he has the backing of head coach Michael Carrick, and could earn some competitive experience in the upcoming season.
Gift of the Gab
Kelly lauded Gabriel for his impact in the United academy as, on talkSPORT’s Transfer Insiders, she said: “He’s been absolutely brilliant so far.
“It was 23 goals in 23 games for United’s U18s (last season), he’s good with the assists as well, he’s just a really exciting talent.
“Because he’s so young, and we’re seeing other players like Max Dowman (Arsenal) getting opportunities, he’s United’s version of that.
“He helped United to the FA Youth Cup final, they did lose it to Manchester City but he scored three goals in that competition.”
Kelly then insisted that United should be careful not to rush him, and used Chido Obi-Martin as an example.
The forward is another promising starlet and has made eight senior appearances for United, but is yet to have scored or assisted.
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Easy does it
“Just a really exciting goalscorer and I think for Manchester United, the youth side of things, we’ve seen a couple of players come through,” Kelly said.
“A few former players’ children like Darren Fletcher’s sons (Jack and Tyler), but to actually have an exciting goalscorer from Man United’s academy, we’ve not really seen anybody for a while.
“Somebody to really be impressing in the way that he is, so I think they’ve got to be very careful as to how they bring him in.
“United brought Chido Obi-Martin from Arsenal and everyone was expecting that to be absolute fireworks.
“It hasn’t quite clicked just yet, and we probably introduced him a little bit too early.
“So, I think with this player, you’ve got to be really careful with how you handle it but so far, he keeps hitting every height so, very exciting.”
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United’s pre-season so far
After a 1-0 defeat to Wrexham, United have bounced back with two consecutive wins this summer.
A 5-0 thrashing of Rosenborg BK preceded the victory over Atletico, but three tough fixtures are up next on their schedule.
Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain meet them on August 8, with rivals Leeds United their opponents four days later.
AC Milan will be their final test on August 15, a week before United travel to Hull City for their Premier League opener, live on talkSPORT.
Man United pre-season on MUTV
Fans can watch Michael Carrick prepare for the new season and how the squad is shaping up across Finland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland.
MUTV is the home of all Manchester United pre-season fixtures. It’s the opportunity to watch new faces, young players, returning names, tactical clues and the first signs of what United might become over the next season.
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