Manchester United have made a formal scholarship offer to teenager JJ Gabriel following his request to leave the club last month. The move comes as manager Michael Carrick prepares his side to host Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, with the ongoing fallout from Manchester City's guilty verdict looming over the fixture.
Gabriel transfer stance changes after offer
Despite the offer being made, United still risk losing Gabriel for as little as £350,000, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all linked to the player. The teenager surprised the club in September when he made an exit demand, sparking major transfer speculation across Europe.
Under Premier League regulations for youth players, Gabriel would have been able to leave in January for nothing if he had not been offered an official scholarship. The Guardian reports that the offer has now been made, which changes the landscape for any future transfer.
Should Gabriel turn down United's deal, any Premier League sides interested in him will need to negotiate club-to-club for his signature. If a deal cannot be agreed, compensation will be decided by a Professional Football Compensation Committee tribunal. United would expect to receive at least £3 million, plus a 20% sell-on clause, instead. However, if Gabriel chooses to move abroad to a European club, the compensation fee would drop much further.
Carrick responds to City charges
Carrick has spoken of the personal impact of City's guilty verdict and urged for the situation to be dealt with as soon as possible, as United broke their silence on the matter. During the international break, the Premier League confirmed that an independent commission had found United's rivals guilty of 114 of the 115 charges they faced.
City have strongly maintained they are innocent and have lodged an appeal. The rule breaches took place between 2009/10 and 2017/18, with Carrick part of the squad that finished second to their rivals in the Premier League on two occasions.
When asked about the charges, Carrick said: "Difficult to say in many ways. It's thrown up a lot of questions. It's ongoing, and there's only so much I can say. I have my own questions about it because it has affected me personally. We'll have to see how it goes. The sooner it gets sorted for everyone, the better."
He added: "There's no getting that (winning moments) back in any direction. The feeling we all crave is coming out on top. That sums it up. Whatever is done in the past, is done in the past. Speed is essential, as I just said. That's obvious for me to sit here and say that. There are so many angles, but speed is essential for everybody to be clear, to deal with it, and move on. It's unprecedented to be in this situation at this level. We all need to know what is going to happen."
When asked if he would want to receive an extra Premier League medal, having missed out in 2011/12 and 2017/18, Carrick said: "I think at the moment, as it's still not finalised, I think I'll hold that one until later on. I think regardless of anything, a medal anyway, in any sport in history, I think the later on you get the medal [it doesn't mean as much]. It's the moment that you strive for to win and achieve in that moment, so the medal here or there, not getting blasé about it, but that doesn't bring the feeling of when you initially win or you don't win. That's essentially what we're all in it for."
