Manchester United starlet JJ Gabriel has wiped all images from his Instagram profile. The striker bagged a hat-trick on his UEFA Youth League debut during Thursday's 5-0 thrashing of Sabah FK Under-19s.
Gabriel found the net in the 45th, 85th and 87th minutes to cement his reputation as one of the Red Devils' most promising prospects. He became the youngest-ever player to net a treble for United in the European competition, aged just 15 years and 339 days.
Social media silence
The rising talent has captured supporters' imaginations, generating considerable buzz at Old Trafford. However, the teenager has curiously deleted every photograph from his Instagram account, apparently without offering any reason.
Speculation is rife over whether he might break into Michael Carrick's first-team squad for Premier League action this season.
First-team eligibility
Top-flight rules in English football stipulate that a player must reach 15 on or before August 31 of a particular season to qualify for league selection. This meant he was ineligible to appear in the last campaign, but could now feature in 2026/27.
Should Reds boss Carrick give him an outing before he turns 16 in October, the youngster would become United's youngest-ever first-team player. The Reds' academy players have been given a boost in their bid to break into the first team, with U21 boss Adam Lawrence switching from a 4-3-3 formation to mirror Carrick's 4-2-3-1 system.
Academy tactical shift
The tactical shift should mean United's youngsters, Gabriel included, arrive in the senior setup with a far clearer grasp of what is expected of them.
The formation change is said to give Gabriel the opportunity to get to grips with Bruno Fernandes' No. 10 role. Meanwhile, the U21s have replicated Carrick's use of Matheus Cunha as a false nine by deploying Amir Ibragimov in the striker's position.
Carrick was in attendance to watch Gabriel make his United U21s debut last month. The 15-year-old found the net and laid on two assists in a commanding 5-0 victory over Ipswich Town, drawing warm words from the first-team manager.
He said: "I thought the boys played ever so well, actually. Really good team, really strong team that we had, and you could see that the quality."
"I really enjoyed the game. Really pleased with the boys, the way they went about it. The quality, the attitude, everything about the game was really good. So, really encouraged by that."
"JJ is one of the boys. He's obviously got a really big talent. He's trained with us quite a bit. He's getting experience all the time. He's physically adapting to each step that he makes, and just continuing his development."
