MANCHESTER UNITED academy prodigy JJ Gabriel’s blistering 22 minute hat-trick for the Under-18s has left everybody talking.
And fans want the 14-year-old forward – nicknamed the ‘Kid Messi’ – to be promoted to the senior squad already.
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Playing three age groups up, Gabriel left fans in awe with his performance in Saturday’s U18s Premier League 4-0 win over Derby.
The teenager netted a quick-fire hat-trick, scoring in the fifth, 14th and 27th minutes to fire his side into a 3-0 lead before the half-hour mark.
Gabriel’s outstanding treble saw the schoolboy open the scoring with a right-footed finish, double it with one off the bar and smash in a left-footed strike for the third.
Skipper Amir Ibragimov, 17, added a fourth from the penalty spot in the 66th minute as Darren Fletcher’s side cruised to another rampant win.
United’s youngsters sit joint top of the table with Man City’s U18s and have also kept four clean sheets in four games across league and cup.
It continues a stunning start to the season for the Gabriel, who has now scored five times in his opening three U18 appearances.
The teenager – son of former EFL player Joe O’Cearuill – was given VIP treatment in the directors box at the first team’s season opener against Arsenal on August 17.
Days later he and his family were also invited to meet first team boss Ruben Amorim at Carrington.
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Although he is ineligible for this season’s FA Youth Cup due to age restrictions, Gabriel is expected to continue training periodically with Amorim’s first team as part of his fast track development.
Fans took to social media to hail the young forward’s weekend performance, with one urging him to fill in for first team injuries.
One user wrote on X: “JJ Gabriel should come in to help out while Matheus Cunha is injured.”
While another said: “How did I forget my star boy JJ Gabriel? Invest your stocks now!”
A third added: “Protect this kid at all costs.”
Gabriel committed his future to United for at least the next two years amid interest from Europe and has been tipped by insiders to become the club’s youngest EVER Premier League player.
He has since been rewarded with an official squad number — 95, the highest in the club’s history — and a sponsorship deal with Nike.
He is so highly rated that technical director Jason Wilcox and director of football Matt Hargreaves played active roles in keeping him at the club.
Gabriel made his debut for the U18s at the beginning of April and scored twice from the bench in a 13-1 hammering of Leeds.
That match saw him become the youngest ever player to feature for the U18s.
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