Real Madrid’s sentiments around JJ Gabriel are incredibly telling for Manchester United as the clock ticks down on the teenager’s long-term future.
JJ Gabriel has become an elephant in the room at Old Trafford after it emerged in September that the Manchester United talent reportedly wanted to leave the club.
The 16-year-old United youth academy product has attracted fierce transfer interest from outside of the Red Devils, including from La Liga side Real Madrid.
However, Madrid are not alone in keeping tabs on Gabriel’s situation at United and Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain could all enter the race, too.
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Real Madrid’s ‘incalculable’ verdict on JJ Gabriel proves that Man Utd could lose a prized asset
Manchester United cannot be complacent in resolving JJ Gabriel’s future after the Barcelona- and Real Madrid-linked teenager turned 16 years old on Tuesday. Gabriel could sign a professional contract with a club after he hit the age of 16 and can secure a European passport through his parents.
Speaking on the ‘Latigo Serrano’ YouTube channel, Spanish reporter Miguel Serrano Olivares has broken down why Madrid are licking their lips at potentially poaching Gabriel from United. He explained that Madrid don’t have an exact number in mind for how much Gabriel could be worth, but they think he has “incalculable” value.
“This is happening with this boy who, I insist, still belongs to Manchester United, but at any moment, as soon as he receives the Cypriot passport he’s waiting for due to pure bureaucratic administrative management, he will announce his decision on which team he’ll play for,” Olivares said.
“There is maximum expectation, maximum tension, maximum uncertainty and let’s hope, at least from what they tell me at Real Madrid, that the kid has an incalculable value.”
According to Sky Sports, United could take “legal action” if Gabriel leaves Old Trafford for a move to a European team. The Red Devils might have to pull every lever now to ensure that the United academy prospect remains at the Premier League club.
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The Achilles’ heel for the Red Devils is that Gabriel is not tied down to a professional contract, which could leave them with only £300,000 in FIFA youth training compensation fee if he does leave. Madrid, on the other hand, could prop Gabriel up on better wages and immediately benefit from his transfer value skyrocketing.
If Gabriel is tied down at Los Blancos, then the return on investment for Madrid could be incredible if Gabriel hits the heights of success that have been floated around his head. United, for example, could secure under £500,000 in compensation while Gabriel reaches a potential transfer value in the same vein as Jude Bellingham.
“The deal for the club that secures the boy’s services would be very interesting, because you would be signing a player who just turned 16 with wild potential; a footballer who already has the biggest contract in history from a sports brand, Nike, for a minor under 18, beating what Neymar had when he was still playing for the Brazilian club Santos,” Olivares explained.
“And we’re talking about a footballer where you only need to watch the highlights to know he’s a different kind of player.”
He added: “But any of the technical directors at these big clubs will tell you that a financial effort of €10million for a player like JJ Gabriel is worth it, because he is a different player, and those kinds of players only come around every 50 years.”
It’s all in Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s hands to ensure that United don’t suffer a haunting memory from losing a talented youth player to Madrid. Even if Gabriel didn’t hit the highest ceiling in his career at Madrid, Los Blancos would still be well-positioned to secure a strong transfer return in any kind of sale.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/OG2ompJ