If Lamine Yamal can shine at 15 then there’s no chance this lad can’t. It’s all about giving him chances.
JJ Gabriel | 2026/27 Performances
- Thread starter Bastian
- Start date
You Registered to say one thing (if we go by your login name) but you are saying so many things
Do you think they are similarly built at the same age?
It's very worrysome that the pressure of having to play Yamal all the time has led to him accumulating 10k minutes of senior football already at the age of 19. For comparison that's about 2,5x more than Rooney at 19, who was built for senior football. Even if Spain won the WC, he didn't look like himself at all - after being rushed back from a muscle injury.
We might silence some critics and keep his closest family happy by fast tracking him to the first team, but I am not sure if that is the best way to develop him and set him up for a long career at the absolute top level.
Also the pl and la liga are very different.
Ok… Max Dowman then.
Max Dowman is physically ahead of his peers. JJ is behind.
Maybe he’s not as good as Dowman or Yamal? This notion that because x player was ready for first team football at aged 15 then every other talented youngster must be as well doesn’t make any sense.
The main issue here seems to a desperation amongst some of our fans for him to be more ready for first team football than he probably realistically is. And I trust the coaches at the club to have a much better handle on this than random fans on the internet.
The main issue here seems to a desperation amongst some of our fans for him to be more ready for first team football than he probably realistically is. And I trust the coaches at the club to have a much better handle on this than random fans on the internet.
Yeah and I mean we saw him the other day. He looks tiny. I can’t see him having any real impact for at least like 3 years at best. Which is fine considering he’s just a child. Let him take his time to develop.
I think people are a bit jealous that Arsenal have Dowman and Liverpool have Rio and they want a wunderkind of their own. I know I do! But life doesn’t always work out that way.
There is some of that.
Dowman is every bit as promising as Gabriel and has the physicality to play semi-regularly already. It is what it is
Rio is a little older
Yeah, he clearly is not ready, but I think the coaching staff are treading the middle ground between development and appeasement. I expect he'll get a chance to break the youngest ever appearance record, but he'll hardly get a lot of game time as it won't really benefit him (or the team).
That being said, his father is not slight by any means, and was a relatively robust defender, so hopefully he'll fill out his frame quite a bit.
Who is physically a lot more developed and he started 1 game last season.
Is the best way to see someone’s mentality and physicality not just to chuck them in at the deep end sometimes? I mean it worked with Rashford… was never meant to even start only due to an injury and then he broke through that season. You are right though… JJ is very small and doesn’t look built enough right now. But sometimes players surprise… I mean A Gomes managed to get first team football at teams and he’s quite small too.
But he's the very very small minority, the vast vast majority don't get close for years.
By the time this lad is 16/17 I'd be shocked if he isn't ready for serious minutes in the first team. This should be a transition year where he gets carefully managed minutes in the cups , trains with the first team and sits on the bench for experience.
I feel like those who are just saying he's tiny (he isn't tiny, he's slight) haven't watched him much. He's very good at riding challenges from much bigger players.
I feel like those who are just saying he's tiny (he isn't tiny, he's slight) haven't watched him much. He's very good at riding challenges from much bigger players.
We have watched him though.
Here is a picture of him when he was with England's u16 team, 9 months ago. Now I think he's gotten a little stronger since then, but the point is that he's been smaller compared to players his age, nevermind first team players. Go watch Yamal or Dowman videos of when they were 15. They were always one of the bigger kids.
This also kind of, but doesn't make sense. JJ Gabriel is a wonderkid. People didn't just make up his goal scoring statistics for his age, which is better than anyone's at that age apart from Dowman (very similar records). Obi's great goal scoring record would be the equivalent of JJ's upcoming season. So JJ has done it the youngest, and while not being physically up to his peers unlike a lot of our past u18 stars. And he's actually technically gifted too.
I think people are trying to force his first team minutes, but that's different from just saying that they're trying to force some unwarranted hype. From looking at his dad, I think the physical growth will come over the next 2 years. And that's when his game can go up a level when others don't have that physical defensive advantage over him.
Any reason he didn't travel with the squad for this game?
I don't think he's going to get anything other than about a token 5 mins with the first team this season, just to show he's in our plans. It's just a season too soon for him. We are being sensible with his exposure which is totally the right call
Yeah wasn't more for games but more just like being with the squad
Played for the u21s
Selling him to the Saudis.
It is the right decision to let him play with the U21s. He is not even 16, he's in year 10. Its crazy to expect anything off him.
A brilliant talent, miles ahead of a lot of youngsters I have seen but physically looks a bit off for competitive men's football. It does not concern me one bit 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, his body will change and become stronger. I do expect him to make up to 5 appearances this season. Certainly in the league cup, perhaps in the champs league if we do well towards the end and maybe the odd prem game, if we are 3 or 4 up.
The biggest deal breaker for me is how the overall team performs. If we struggle, we will see less of him, it is too much pressure for a guy that was in nappies when United last won the league. If we do well, then I expect him to see some minutes. 27/28 and 28/29 seasons is where I would expect him to make his name, assuming the stars align.
A brilliant talent, miles ahead of a lot of youngsters I have seen but physically looks a bit off for competitive men's football. It does not concern me one bit 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, his body will change and become stronger. I do expect him to make up to 5 appearances this season. Certainly in the league cup, perhaps in the champs league if we do well towards the end and maybe the odd prem game, if we are 3 or 4 up.
The biggest deal breaker for me is how the overall team performs. If we struggle, we will see less of him, it is too much pressure for a guy that was in nappies when United last won the league. If we do well, then I expect him to see some minutes. 27/28 and 28/29 seasons is where I would expect him to make his name, assuming the stars align.
Probably because most of our first team are back and he's not part of it, understandably as he is a child.
Yep, this is exactly right.
How many minutes he gets in the next couple of seasons depends on how well the team does.
He's got talent in abundance and times on hos side.