Manchester United prodigy JJ Gabriel continues to generate attention throughout the club’s youth setup. However, despite supporters urging him to secure loan experience elsewhere, the 15-year-old will remain at the club. The London-born forward previously featured in prestigious youth academies across the capital, including Chelsea and Arsenal, before making the switch to Carrington in 2022. Following this move, Gabriel has been a sensation.

Aged just 14, he made his debut for United’s Under-18s and last year committed to a long-term scholarship arrangement. He has found the net consistently throughout the club’s junior sides and registered his 15th and 16th strikes of this campaign for the Under-18s during the weekend fixture against Wolves.

Given Gabriel’s exceptional potential, some have proposed that he gain first-team experience via a loan spell elsewhere, considering he’s ineligible to feature for United’s senior side this season.

Nevertheless, it’s equally impossible for Gabriel to depart Carrington on a temporary basis.

He is currently on a scholarship arrangement, rather than a professional contract. This means he isn’t professionally registered and therefore cannot be sent out on a conventional loan.

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Young players are prohibited from signing professional contracts until they turn 17. Although Gabriel could alternatively sign a pre-professional arrangement, which automatically converts into a professional contract upon turning 17.

Gabriel will reach that age in October 2027, so until then, we will not see him on loan. There is another possibility for young players in the UK: the FA allows academy players to go on Work Experience loans.

This involves a youngster who has reached school-leaving age and is registered with a Premier League or EFL side temporarily joining a lower league club. They would still be training with their parent team.

However, since these can only be undertaken at 16, this is not an option for Gabriel either. It could also be argued that United would prefer to retain Gabriel at Carrington and nurture him as he continues to train with their first team.

In essence, Gabriel is too young to be sent on loan and isn’t even a professional yet. Furthermore, even if he were older and able to be loaned out, most transfer windows across Europe are currently closed.

Therefore, Gabriel almost certainly won’t be seen with any club other than United until late 2027 at the earliest. The Red Devils, though, will likely be hoping he enjoys a lengthy career with them if he can fulfil his immense potential and may not see the need to loan him out if he can establish himself in the first team picture at Old Trafford.

Current first-team boss Michael Carrick has been in attendance to watch Gabriel this season and was present when the Under-18s faced Oxford United in the FA Youth Cup last week.

The teenager found the back of the net in that 4-1 victory, and Carrick shared with MUTV after the match: “Yeah, it was good. I enjoyed it. It’s good to get our eyes on some of the younger players and how they’re doing.

“For them to feel that connection. I was really pleased with Colin [Little] and Fletch [Darren Fletcher] and the boys and I thought they played really well in tough conditions, actually. So to get a good result and move on was a good night.”

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