Manchester United's teenage prospect JJ Gabriel has restored some posts to his Instagram account after wiping his profile clean earlier this month, while former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira has revealed he once secretly met with iconic ex-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson about a potential move to Old Trafford.
United have 10 days until their next Premier League match, with players away on international duty or training behind the scenes. Before the break, Michael Carrick's side had a mixed start to the campaign: five league games brought defeats to Hull City and Manchester City, a 5-2 win over Ipswich Town, and draws with Everton and Fulham. They also won their Champions League opener against Sabah FK but lost 3-2 to Brighton in the Carabao Cup third round.
JJ Gabriel's social media U-turn
Gabriel, one of United's most promising young players, wiped his Instagram profile clean earlier in September, and shortly after it emerged he wanted to leave the club. United have denied cancelling his registration, which would be his only immediate exit route since he is too young to sign a scholarship or professional contract. When he turns 16 on October 6, United would be powerless to stop him leaving for another European club if he obtained the relevant documentation. Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the rumoured suitors.
While Gabriel does not appear to have backed down, he has restored some posts to his Instagram account. Two posts have returned: one shows Gabriel after signing a long-term contract with Nike in late 2025, and the other shows him winning the Under-18 Premier League Player of the Season Award for 2025/26, smiling alongside Alan Shearer and his trophy. Instagram lets users archive posts and restore them to their feed, and users can also recover deleted content within 30 days of its removal, though it is not clear which option Gabriel used.
Patrick Vieira's secret Man Utd meeting
Patrick Vieira, now Senegal head coach, has admitted he once met secretly with Sir Alex Ferguson, who wanted to bring him to United. Vieira starred for Arsenal from 1996 to 2005, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. During that period, United and Arsenal were bitter rivals, and Vieira had a notable feud with Roy Keane. Vieira claimed Ferguson wanted to partner him with Keane, and he met with the Scot to discuss a transfer from the Gunners. It is unclear when the meeting took place, but United were linked with Vieira in 2003.
"I had an opportunity to move to Manchester United," Vieira told Sky Sports. "I had a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson. Full respect, I couldn't say no to meeting him because he was an important figure in the Premier League."
"We met and we talked and he explained to me his vision that he had for Manchester United and the team that he wanted to build. He wanted to play me with Keane, [Ryan] Giggs on the left-hand side, David Beckham on the right-hand side and [Paul] Scholes to play behind [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, so it wasn't a bad team. But I couldn't leave Arsenal, I was too happy there and we were on the way of building something quite really special for the club and that's the way it was. I felt the love from the club, from the players and from the fans. Everything was there for me to grow up as a player and to achieve what I wanted to."
