Manchester United’s preseason trip to Norway just got a lot more interesting. The club named a 15-year-old striker named JJ Gabriel to its traveling squad for Tuesday’s friendly against Rosenborg. And no, that’s not a typo.
If you haven’t heard of Gabriel yet, you will soon. Born in London and raised in Enfield, he bounced through youth setups at Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham before United signed him in 2022. Back when he was nine, a YouTube clip of him doing absurd things with a ball went viral. People called him the ‘Kid Messi.’ That label tends to follow you.
Now he’s in Trondheim with Michael Carrick’s first team, and there’s a real chance he gets actual senior minutes. United’s only fully recognized striker on this trip is Joshua Zirkzee. Benjamin Sesko is still recovering from a shin problem that ended his season early. Chido Obi, another teenage prospect, is also in the mix. But if Carrick wants to give the fans something to talk about, Gabriel is the guy.
He turned 15 in October. That’s not a misprint. Last season, at 14, he became the youngest player ever to appear for United’s Under-18 side. He scored twice on debut against Leeds. In October, Ruben Amorim invited him to train with the first team. In December, he scored in the FA Youth Cup at Old Trafford against Peterborough. By season’s end, he was the Under-18s’ Player of the Year.
Gabriel has also represented England at U15, U16 and U17 levels. But his international future isn’t locked in. His paternal grandmother is Irish. His mother is Cypriot. His grandfather is from Trinidad and Tobago. So there are options.
If he gets on the field against Rosenborg, he’ll be playing the first senior match of his career. That’s a long way from YouTube fame at age nine. But for a kid who’s been called the next Messi since elementary school, maybe it’s just the next step.
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