JJ Gabriel: Darren Fletcher issues exciting verdict on United starlet

Ready to join United’s pre-season tour

Speaking to The Athletic, Fletcher insisted that Gabriel has been a pleasure to work with. He said: “JJ’s an amazing talent and has an enthusiasm for football that he brings to the pitch every day: to learn, to want to play and be on the ball. He’s been a pleasure to work with. He’s a fantastic kid.”

The United Under-18 manager went on to state that the young centre-forward is ready to make the jump up to the senior side and join them in the upcoming pre-season tour, adding: “All our players are capable of going on pre-season, not just JJ. It’ll depend on who else is selected and what he needs for his next step.”

“Getting variation in your development is really important. We want him to go up there and thrive. We need to get him in the position to do that, and even if he doesn’t, that’s not the end of the world. We always need to be careful. They need to experience that, but it’s making sure it’s at the right time, and understanding why and what the needs are.”

“Once you get thrown in there, you’re judged very, very quickly, rightly or wrongly. It’s important that we do right by his development. JJ’s more than capable to go in, as are a lot of our young players. They all get experiences with the first team. It goes under the radar how many of our young players get tastes of the first team.”

Gabriel part of an impressive United bunch

While Fletcher was full of praise for Gabriel, he also pointed out the entire team’s contribution to the player’s rise. He stated: “We have to remember he’s a kid and also, he’s been part of a really good team.”

“JJ has recognised the amount of help he’s had from team-mates to get on the ball into those positions to score goals. We’ve got a lot of good players. JJ has scored the goals, and goals always get the limelight.”

“He’s bought into – as all the attacking players have – the out-of-possession stuff, the real team ethos. JJ takes constructive criticism fantastically and I’ve got a great relationship with him. He has a major future.”

Final Thoughts

It already appears that United have a generational talent on their hands and they must carefully nurture him to help him reach his true potential. There is already a queue forming to prise Gabriel away from Old Trafford, so the Red Devils have to ensure they secure his future as well.

Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social