JJ Gabriel sends one-word message to Man United after snub vs Rosenborg
Manchester United wonderkid JJ Gabriel has sent a direct message to fans after he was left on the bench against Rosenborg.
On Friday evening, United bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Wrexham in their first match of pre-season with a dominant 5-0 victory over Rosenborg in Norway.
While new signing Andrey Santos attracted a lot of attention on social media, goals from Shea Lacey, Joshua Zirkzee, Jacob Devaney, Harry Amass and Ethan Williams showed that it's United's academy that fans should really be paying attention to.
It therefore came as a massive disappointment to many fans when Michael Carrick opted not to hand young superstar Gabriel his debut during the one-sided game.
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The youngster was named the Under-18 Premier League player of the season last season, despite only being 14 at the start of the campaign, and is widely regarded as one of the most exciting future stars both for United and for England.
Despite this, Gabriel and Jim Thwaites were the only outfield players Carrick decided not to bring on against Rosenborg.
Post-match one fan took to X to express their confusion at the decision, writing: "5-0 up and we don’t get JJ Gabriel minutes, we play Atletico Madrid and PSG next? When will we get them?"
But Gabriel has ushered fans, and himself, to wait just a little bit longer, sharing a photo of his first-ever first-team kit on his Instagram story with a simple message, writing: "Patience."
It's not known exactly why Carrick decided not to let Gabriel get his first minutes as a senior player, but it's very possible that he decided to protect the 15-year-old from the scrutiny he would have no doubt been under given the hype surrounding him once he was named on the bench.
However, with plenty of time still to come on United's pre-season tour, there's still every chance that fans will get to see Gabriel in action soon.
READ MORE: Man Utd fans have already made their mind up about Andrey Santos after Rosenborg friendly
Who is Man United wonderkid JJ Gabriel?
Gabriel, who does not turn 16 until October, has quickly become one of the most talked about young players in football today.
The striker, born in London in 2010, played in Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham's youth set-ups before joining United in 2022.
On his debut for United's U18 side, he scored a brace against Leeds and was later invited to train with the first-team squad under Ruben Amorim back in October.
He later went on to score in the FA Youth Cup in December against Peterborough and has represented England U15, U16 and U17.
Speaking about the youngster back in March, Carrick said: "JJ is a big talent, it's pretty obvious to know that and he's had a really good season for the Under-18s.
"We obviously think an awful lot of him, but patience is important in managing everything that comes with that and working with him in development as we do with all the different younger players and picking the right moment to step up.
"What he's done when he's trained, he's done well as you'd expect and it's good to have the younger players come up with us."
Meanwhile Darren Fletcher, who coached Gabriel at Under-18s level, described him as an 'amazing talent' and a 'fantastic kid' that surely has a future in the first team.
Topics: Football News, Premier League, Man Utd, Football, Michael Carrick
Ben McCrum