Closest player to Rooney we've had. Can play anywhere. Hope we have a clear path for him and he keeps his head down.
JJ Gabriel
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The posture, arms out and even passing is fecking uncanny.
In that clip I was referring to.
Playing style wise, he's not even close to Rooney.
Yeah we've not seen the same vision with creative passing and explosive acceleration of the Rooney playstyle.
More technical dribbler/ close control/ skills
Yeah more of a Cristiano Ronaldo play style wise than a Rooney.
Plus Rooney was far more developed physically and was very tenacious apart from having that explosive style as you mentioned.
Amazing prospect. Hard not to get excited about him doing what he’s doing while playing against older opposition.
Neither Rooney nor CR7. Both were physically advanced for their age. Rooney with power and acceleration, CR7 with height and acceleration spiced with stepovers.
The top player whose style he is closest to is Neymar. The touch, agility, feints, running style etc.
That's key, not for him to lose his head and think he's made it before he has. It's happen before, kid looks great at lower levels and then doesn't make it when playing in top flight football.
Happen to that AC Milan kid who was in advert or some social media stuff with Neymar when he was 14-15.
Now playing in serie C or something.
Yeah, I should say that I'm not downplaying JJ Gabriel here. Rooney is an all time great but also very a different profile.
JJs key strengths are his technical ability, reaction speed and instinct for how to just do enough to manipulate and keep the ball is really something else. His shooting technique is also superb even with little back lift.
He's a constant menace around the penalty area.
Love what I'm seeing - but very concerned about the amount of attention he's getting.
I don't think it will go to his head, but more the fact he becomes a target in the matches. There's also the risk that he's still on a scholar contract and can easily be snapped up when that runs out for pittance.
Does anyone know anything about how contracts work for young players, should we wish to sign him up for a long term pro contract?
I don't think it will go to his head, but more the fact he becomes a target in the matches. There's also the risk that he's still on a scholar contract and can easily be snapped up when that runs out for pittance.
Does anyone know anything about how contracts work for young players, should we wish to sign him up for a long term pro contract?
Why isn’t he playing for the u21s, u18 seems to easy for him. He is eligible for u21 right?
He probably could play there and do alright but physically he would be outmatched. Better to leave him in the Under 18s this season and then move him up next year if he physically develops. He's only 15 so has a lot of time on his side.
He's not eligible for the 21s, too young.
I'm not really sure why so many people want to push him so fast.
Firstly, he is still a schoolboy and has some growing to do both physically and emotionally, that will take its natural course as he turns from a boy into a man.
Secondly, given his age he is limited to who he can represent anyway (i.e. U/21's, first team). Let him start playing regularly against adults at Carrington first to assess his readiness. The coaches will know when he is ready and advise the manager accordingly. Clearly Carrick has watched him a few times and is aware of his talent. However, we may have a new manager in the summer who may see things differently.
Thirdly, adult footballers are really good at working out how to nullify their opponents. Once Gabriel starts playing against experienced defenders they will work out how to close him down, push him into less dangerous positions, foul him and so on. The really great young players adapt quickly and build on their skill set to ensure they cause multiple problems for defenders.
The lad seems a real talent which most people will agree with but transitioning into the first team is a completely different thing. Let's enjoy the journey and see what happens.
Firstly, he is still a schoolboy and has some growing to do both physically and emotionally, that will take its natural course as he turns from a boy into a man.
Secondly, given his age he is limited to who he can represent anyway (i.e. U/21's, first team). Let him start playing regularly against adults at Carrington first to assess his readiness. The coaches will know when he is ready and advise the manager accordingly. Clearly Carrick has watched him a few times and is aware of his talent. However, we may have a new manager in the summer who may see things differently.
Thirdly, adult footballers are really good at working out how to nullify their opponents. Once Gabriel starts playing against experienced defenders they will work out how to close him down, push him into less dangerous positions, foul him and so on. The really great young players adapt quickly and build on their skill set to ensure they cause multiple problems for defenders.
The lad seems a real talent which most people will agree with but transitioning into the first team is a completely different thing. Let's enjoy the journey and see what happens.
You're thinking of Mastour, who never really did well in the u19 for Milan. So it's not the same.
Yeah, his body still needs to mature. Look at his legs compared to Joshua Abe of Liverpool (#7), who is the same age and only just started scoring in the u18.
https://imgup.uk/i/DZEtNhm3.png
So even compared to his u16 England teammates, he is smaller. In this way, I think his impact for the u18s is even more impressive. Imagine if his body were slightly more physical. So he still has a bit of projection to go through to really think of his potential prime as an adult. He has that Jesse Lingard body that matured later compared to his teammates and allowed him to become a United player. We could have a potential worldie if he has his head on straight, the coaches don't fail him, and a bit of luck goes his way.
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It is not about pushing him fast, ofcourse he is not ready for the first team, but the u18s seems a bit too easy for him already, he needs a bigger challenge to develop.
What did Ronaldo look like at 15 though?
Some of it is just fear that his father (who's flirted with half the top clubs in Europe) will just have him leave ASAP if Gabriel doesn't get a scent of 1st team action just as soon as he's technically legible for it (the EU passport makes things easier for JJ and his 'advisors', harder for United in terms of keeping him)...
Wonder if he will go straight into the first team next season. We've seen kids of this level get promoted straight away.
Fabregas, Rooney and Messi spring to mind.
Fabregas, Rooney and Messi spring to mind.
“Straight into”, I doubt it. Can see him in PL2 and maybe getting some bench time (maybe even a few minutes) in first team but the step up in both (in pace and physicality) is huge, particularly the PL.
If not managed properly he's going to be another Garnacho.
Fabregas was a first teamer at like 16.5 years old so 1 year and 1 month from now for JJ
Rooney 16 and 10 months, so like August of 2027 for JJ to be the same age as Rooney's debut
Messi was 16 yo, 4 months and 23 days so that would be equivalent to JJ making his debut this time next year
That goes to show you that JJ is really young and would be really young to be going into the first team right away next season. He really shouldn't be doing that at the start of next season, and United should be thinking about what's best for him physically.
I am not sure what the rush is, its not like he has a tiny window that we are going to miss.
The big unknown is when he goes through his growth spurt. Probably coming soon but that will likely coincide with poor form as he grows into his adult body and possibly injuries due to the pressure on ligaments etc. He’s just a boy at the moment, a ridiculously talented one, but one that needs to be watched and managed carefully at such a tender age! I remember Shay Lacey disappeared for a while and then came back far taller and stronger. JJ needs space and time
Yeah any father that changes his son’s name for branding reasons is going to be a worry.
Yeah, I can see us targeting someone a bit older for that additional forward role, like Ndiaye. It's not about putting all our eggs in the JJ basket, but just providing a clear pathway for if/when he is ready.
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Last I recall a lot of clubs were sniffing around him, have we managed to tie him down to a deal yet?
I don’t think we really can until he’s 16. He’s tied down until then.
I should have looked up his age really, he's not even 16 during the summer!
Next season will be too much too soon for the lad, unless we're talking about him getting a few inconsequential minutes here or there in April or May (i.e., the tail end of the campaign). Premier League 2 football would be more of a natural progression, and enable him to grow and develop out of the limelight, relatively speaking. Rooney was a freak of nature from a physical standpoint so the transition to first team football was reasonably straightforward for him. Gabriel is not a freak of nature — he's not strong like young Rooney, he's not rapid like young Rooney. As regards Fàbregas, he burned out much faster than a lot of other La Masia midfielders (like Iniesta who debuted at 18 years of age, Xavi who debuted at 18 years of age and Busquets who debuted at 20 years of age), partly due to playing so much first team football from such a young age. And Messi played with Barcelona B for quite a while and made his La Liga debut at 17 years and 3 months of age (Gabriel is 1¾ years away from that, for reference).
There's kind of this obsession amongst fans to get really young players into the first team asap but a quick look at the top 10 tells a different picture (source):
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) – 15 years, 181 days
- Max Dowman (Arsenal) – 15 years, 235 days
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester City) – 15 years, 271 days
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham) – 16 years, 30 days
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham) – 16 years, 68 days
- Izzy Brown (West Bromwich Albion) – 16 years, 117 days
- Aaron Lennon (Leeds United) – 16 years, 129 days
- Jose Baxter (Everton) – 16 years, 191 days
- Gary McSheffrey (Coventry City) – 16 years, 198 days
- Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (Aston Villa) – 16 years, 198 days
hopefully we can keep hold of him
it will be interesting to see how he develops physically and tactically over the next couple of years,
a very exciting talent.
it will be interesting to see how he develops physically and tactically over the next couple of years,
a very exciting talent.
Rossi still had a great career. Did really well in la liga with Villareal.
For me Ravel Morrison had the skill and flair to be a guaranteed star in my eyes.
I watched him live a few times during the 2010/11 season, and he was a joy to see in action - truly exceptional talent.
Shame it never worked out.
I do remember Scholes looked impressive alongside Dion Dublin in The Pontins Reserve League that 1993/1994 season..
The little and large combo up front, scored all sorts of goals, from then on I genuinely believed Scholes had what it took to succeed at higher levels.
I saw him more as a second striker than a central midfielder at the time though.
Greenwood also was like a dead cert to me. His explosiveness and clinical finishing with both feet really stood out, and he was a decent free-kick taker as well.
All that said I also believed Mads Timm would make it. He had raw talent, but by all accounts, he couldnt be arsed.
John Curtis was another player I got caught up in the hype about. Word went round he was going to better than Gary Neville. it didn’t quite pan out as expected.
James Wilson was another hopeful of mine - thought he could reach a Danny Welbeck level at least (Prem level). Unfortunately, I was proven wrong on that front too.
Pogba, like Morrison, I watched live multiple times during 2010/2011.
He was top class talent with massive potential and a big physical presence even as a teen.
But he struggled with consistency once he got to our first team via Juventus.
You can clearly see he is too good for this level
Nah Morrison really was that good at academy level, if he'd had more than a single braincell he would have become a world-class footballer. I weep for how he and Greenwood wasted their talent (Greenwood can still become world-class I suppose but feck him).
I’m slightly concerned about the hyping his dad is doing on social media. He’s clearly very supportive but a few alarm bells with how unhinged he seems
TBH, with how he's performing at his age, the hype would come regardless of what his Dad did.
Meh, Messi himself has a knobhead for a dad. Don't see it as a huge issue unless he suddenly becomes his defacto agent as well.