Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has described the club's teenage forward JJ Gabriel as a "generational talent" and advised that the 15-year-old should remain at Old Trafford rather than be loaned out.
The youngster is regarded as one of the most highly-rated young players in world football and has recently been training with United's first-team squad. Following a string of impressive displays for the U18s, Gabriel is expected to become the club's youngest ever senior player, with reports suggesting he could make his debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup third round next week.
Such an appearance would make him the youngest player ever to feature in a competitive senior match for United. He has already played in a pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid last month.
Giggs urges patience
Giggs, who made his own United debut at 17 in 1991, believes Gabriel is at an "in-between" stage of his development and needs to be patient before breaking into the first team. Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents: The Debrief, the former winger argued that keeping the teenager with the senior squad would benefit his growth more than a loan move.
"Sometimes you have to be patient," Giggs explained. "Sometimes it gets to a point where you can't not pick him and not have him train in the first team."
"That might be in a month, might be six months, might be a year. It's that in-between time where he thinks he should be in the first team."
"He thinks he should be in the squad every week when Michael sees it a different way, that, actually, no, you need to play games because it's not really going to do you any good travelling here, there and everywhere and you're getting five minutes here, 10 minutes there."
Stay at United
On Gabriel's next steps, the former Wales manager added: "It's a generational talent, he's got to stay at Man United."
"There's no point in going out on loan because he's at the best place and he'd be dipping in and out of the first team. That experience is invaluable."
"Not only the games and the training, but actually travelling with the team, seeing the expectation of Man United. You're seeing that the focus is so huge on Manchester United. You need to get used to that."
Carrick's view
The comments follow United manager Michael Carrick's assessment of Gabriel, who made his Premier League 2 debut against Ipswich last month. Carrick said the teenager is adapting to the demands of the senior squad.
"JJ is one of the boys," said Carrick. "He's obviously got a really big talent. He's trained with us quite a bit and is getting experience all the time."
"He's physically adapting to each step, and we're just continuing his development."
