Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United not to be 'bullied' into selling JJ Gabriel. The highly-rated 15-year-old stunned the club earlier this month when he asked for his contract to be ripped up at Old Trafford.
Europe's top clubs circling
Europe's top clubs are circling as a result, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich among them. Gabriel is said to have aspirations of playing in Spain, leaving the two Spanish juggernauts in the driving seat, with the teenager recently visiting the clubs.
He can negotiate with overseas clubs when he turns 16 on October 6, but Ferdinand has urged United not to let him go.
He said: "I think we need to understand the reasons why he wants to leave the club. It's not a 15-year-old making this call on his own, his family may have their reasons why."
"Are they being impatient, are they thinking he should have got minutes already, were they promised stuff and now they're disgruntled?"
"There will be other kids using this as a reference point so you can't be seen to be weak as a football club. But, I reiterate, I don't know the full facts and I would love to."
Gabriel's recent exploits
Gabriel had been in line to feature in the Carabao Cup against Brighton & Hove Albion, however after expressing his intentions to the club, the plans were shelved.
A week before the bombshell, the 15-year-old scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Youth League in a 5-0 rout over Sabah. The club have high hopes for the forward and hope a resolution can be made, otherwise they stand to find themselves missing out on millions of training compensation should he move abroad.
Ferdinand added: "I remember watching him in training and he was doing shooting drills with Bruno Fernandes. That's the PFA Player of the Year and one of the best midfielders in the world."
"At 15 years old that would have been enough for me. But maybe he's got aspirations and wants to be playing already."
United's youth recruitment drive
United are still pushing to add reinforcements to their youth ranks as they look to eradicate the notion that they are no longer attractive to the best young talent.
Darren Fletcher's side have received an injection of teenage talent in recent weeks with the arrivals of midfield pair Karrim Casim and David Eze from Manchester City, and forward Isaac Konde from Liverpool.
Samuel Luckhurst has reported that United are tracking 16-year-old Lens starlet Mezian Mesloub. The teenager has already made waves in Ligue 1 after scoring the winner on his debut in May and Old Trafford figures are said to be among the European clubs eyeing his services.
However, Premier League rules and Brexit regulations mean that they will not be able to officially sign the player until he turns 18, meaning the earliest they could sign him in January 2028 after his 18th birthday in November.
