Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and Bayern Munich are trying to make inroads even as Chelsea and Real Madrid remain best positioned to sign Manchester United prodigy JJ Gabriel, a new report has said.
Manchester United have so far made no progress in their efforts to convince the 15-year-old forward to stay, as he reportedly remains adamant about terminating his current deal and looking for a new base. Gabriel has refused to train with the Manchester United U-18 side since last Thursday, and as per reports, Real Madrid have emerged as the favourites to get him despite initial reports linking him to Chelsea.
In reality, Real Madrid have been working on a project to sign Gabriel for months now, but the whole mission was secretive given the complications involved in signing an underage talent, The Athletic said in a report. Only a few people within the Los Blancos set-up knew about the potential move. "...The Spanish club have taken particular care and exercised great caution, following sanctions imposed on several European teams years ago, and FIFA rules governing transfers involving players under the age of 18," the report read.
Real Madrid hold the edge over United's Premier League rivals, including Chelsea, as Gabriel's transfer to another English club would be very complicated due to regulations, The Athletic said. He would have to wait a long time before a switch could be worked out.
However, it was not mentioned when exactly the La Liga side made contact with Gabriel's camp or if he had made any demands from his end. Losing the teenager is a big blow for United, as the boy is easily a future £100 million star.
JJ Gabriel, a.k.a. the ‘Kid Messi’?
Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel, better known as JJ Gabriel, is of Irish and Cypriot descent and garnered the attention of the world when a YouTube video of him on the ball went viral on the internet. He was nine years old when the channel SV2 uploaded his video—highlighting his exceptional ball control and dribbling skills. This has earned him the nickname "Kid Messi" ever since.
Apart from being a fox in the box for the Manchester United U-18s, the youngster is effective as a right-winger as well. The 2010-born attacker was last year rated by some experts as the best talent the United academy has ever seen.
