JJ Gabriel has been compared to Wayne Rooney by Ryan Giggs, and the Manchester United teenager produced a performance to further the hype around him in a 5-0 win over Sabah in the UEFA Youth League on Thursday. Gabriel, 15, was a regular feature in Uniteds pre-season squads this summer, though he featured in just one of those games, against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm. However, his proximity to Michael Carricks squad and his performances at youth level have led to talk of him becoming Uniteds youngest first-team player.David Gaskell, who made his debut in the 1956 Charity Shield aged 16 years and 19 days, holds the honour of being the youngest player in Uniteds history.Gabriel does not turn 16 until October and furthered his case for inclusion by scoring a hat-trick as United crushed Azerbaijani side Sabah to open their Youth League campaign.It was one way traffic throughout, with United attempting a remarkable 44 shots to Sabahs 0.United were 2-0 up inside 16 minutes, but Gabriels first did not arrive until the stroke of half-time as he volleyed in from close range after excellent chest control.His second came five minutes before the end of normal time as he cut inside a defender and slotted into the bottom-right corner.Two minute he completed the treble by latching onto a ball over the top and rifling into the top-left corner, marking his debut in the Youth League in sublime fashion.What has Michael Carrick said about Gabriel?When previously asked about Gabriel, Carrick indicated there is no rush for him to be moved into the first-team squad for competitive games.JJ is one of the boys, Carrick said. Hes obviously got a really big talent. Hes trained with us quite a bit and is getting experience all the time.Hes physically adapting to each step, and were just continuing his development.Any need Carrick feels to protect Gabriel would be understandable, but the more he continues to shine to this extent, the more it may be harder to avoid giving the teenager an historic debut. Topics Manchester United F.C. Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Fantasy Premier League 2026/27: Semenyo and Maguire headline this weeks must drops Jon Fisher 10th September, 2026 Fantasy Premier League 2026/27: Jump on red-hot Chelsea attackers for Gameweek 4 Blake Hurst 10th September, 2026 Manchester United v Sabah: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch Nicholas McGee 10th September, 2026 Win tickets to a Champions League game with bet365 Jon Fisher 9th September, 2026 Ballon dOr: Full list of 30 nominees as Messi is included but Ronaldo snubbed Jon Fisher 8th September, 2026 Man City: Maresca provides optimistic updates on OReilly and Doku with derby on horizon Nicholas McGee 7th September, 2026
