Arsenal set for chance to sign Man Utd's JJ Gabriel for free as Chelsea deal banned
JJ Gabriel could be on his way out of Manchester United(Image: (Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images))
Arsenal could be in with a chance of signing Manchester United wonderkid JJ Gabriel after he asked to leave the club immediately. The request from the 15-year-old and his camp has left United shocked, as per football.london 's sister-title, the Manchester Evening News, after his refusal to train on Tuesday.
The teenager was in line to be part of the first-team squad in the Carabao Cup against Brighton on Wednesday but that will no longer happen. He had decided against training with the senior team in the lead up to the game and has since put in a formal request for his registration to be cancelled.
It has been claimed by the Manchester Evening News that United believe the situation can still be resolved and that having his registration cancelled is actually not possible.
Several teams are likely to want to sign Gabriel, regardless of whether or not he becomes a free agent, but Chelsea cannot make an approach having been banned from registering academy players for a period of nine months with that starting in March.
Arsenal, however, are free to do so and could be an attractive destination for Gabriel given their recent domestic success. Mikel Arteta has also trusted a number of young players and academy graduates in recent years.
Myles Lewis-Skelly has a clear role in Arsenal's senior squad while Max Dowman, who could be the homegrown long-term successor to Bukayo Saka, is also set for a bright future. However, some younger talent have left the club in search of regular minutes with two of those in Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi, actually joining United.
Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Ethan Nwaneri are others that have broken into the first-team but failed to make a lasting impact which has resulted in permanent and loan departures.
Recent opportunities for Andre Harriman-Annous and Marli Salmon has proven there may have been a shift in thinking with the signings of talent from elsewhere also indicating that.
Marli Salmon is expected to feature for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup against Ipswich Town
Earlier this month, Arsenal confirmed that highly-rated Georgian Andria Bartishvili had signed a pre-contract and would be joining the club in July 2027 when he turns 18.
And Gabriel could be their next target but they are likely to face competition from other interested parties including Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Madrid. However, Gabriel cannot professional contract until he turns 17, which he does not to do for another two years.
Signing scholarship terms is an option and he will be able to do so in a few months when he turns 16 on October 6, but under the current rules, Gabriel is registered with United until the conclusion of this campaign.
This is actually not the first time he has tried to depart the club with intervention from director of football Jason Wilcox needed to stop him from leaving when he was a 14-year-old in 2025.
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