Paul Merson makes JJ Gabriel claim as Man Utd youngster agrees to join Real Madrid

Paul Merson says Manchester United will be ‘gutted’ to lose JJ Gabriel to Real Madrid as he ‘could have been a superstar’ at Old Trafford. The 16-year-old has reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid in January after walking out on United earlier in the season. Gabriel, who was branded the ‘best 15-year-old in Europe’ last year, was expected to become Manchester United’s youngest player in the Carabao Cup in September. But the club decided to delay his introduction to first-team football and Gabriel’s representatives immediately removed him from United and began looking elsewhere for opportunities .