They invited the England U16 international to Camp Nou last year, where he was given a tour of the facilities and met numerous first team stars in an effort to persuade him towards a move.<\/p>\n
He was pictured meeting Barca star Lamine Yamal, who signed a jersey for the young talent.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Gabriel and his family are said to be massive fans of the Catalan club.<\/p>\n
United, meanwhile, view Gabriel as a key part of their long-term project but face a major battle in keeping him at the club, and they are seemingly pulling out all the stops to do so.<\/p>\n
Having been convinced by Jason Wilcox, the Red Devils’ Director of Football, to remain at the club last summer, he has since been involved in first-team training on several occasions.<\/p>\n
He is now being introduced to club legends, with Gabriel sharing an image of himself and Sir Alex on his Instagram account following United’s 1-1 draw against West Ham in midweek.<\/p>\n
Gabriel wrote alongside the photo: “Great honour to meet legend Sir Alex Ferguson.”<\/em><\/p>\n United’s performance on the pitch, however, won’t have helped their attempts to get Gabriel to commit his long-term future to the club, as Ruben Amorim’s side underwhelmed once more.<\/p>\n Diogo Dalot put the Red Devils ahead on 58 minutes despite another below-par performance.<\/p>\n The Hammers, who are 18th place in the relegation zone, were able to salvage a point though, as Soungoutou Magassa netted his first Premier League goal with seven minutes to spare.<\/p>\n Bruno Fernandes extended an unwanted record<\/a> as a result of the full-time scoreline.<\/p>\n Amorim’s side have now won just one of their last five league matches and sit in eighth place, with their consistently poor performances building pressure on the Portuguese manager.<\/p>\n Should the ex-Sporting coach depart or be sacked, frustrated Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is favoured to replace him, according to the next Manchester United manager odds<\/a> market.<\/p>\n Gabriel shone as the standout star in his most recent outing for United’s U18s, logging a Man of the Match performance and bagging a hat-trick away at Liverpool last Saturday.<\/p>\n You can find his full highlights from the clash below.<\/p>\n JJ Gabriel vs Liverpool u18s (a)<\/p>\n A hat-trick in a total performance from the 15-year-old \u26bd\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f\u26bd\ufe0f#MUFC<\/a> #MUAcademy<\/a><\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/i8Z8oYhl24<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 UnitedAnalyst (@UnitedAnalyst7) November 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/12\/JJ-Gabriel-and-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-560x454.jpg\")
WATCH: JJ Gabriel Hat-Trick vs Liverpool U18<\/h2>\n
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