Shock at Old Trafford: 15-Year-Old Prodigy Reportedly Requests Club Exit

The young forward is considered a future star and has already trained with the "Red Devils'" senior squad under manager Michael Carrick. He made his first appearance for the first team last month, coming on as a substitute in a pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid.

It was anticipated that he would make his competitive senior debut in Wednesday's Carabao Cup third-round match against Brighton at Old Trafford. Gabriel's alleged request comes just days after he scored a hat-trick on his UEFA Youth League debut against Sabah.

"JJ is surrounded by people who truly, truly believe in him – from the very top of the club down to everyone else. He's been at the club for a very long time. He has really good relationships with both the players and the coaching staff, so I think that helps him too.

Right now, in terms of his game, his match schedule, and his training schedule, it's all about ensuring he gets the right amount of game time and experience at various levels," said Manchester United's academy coach Adam Lawrence after the 5-0 victory, according to AFP.

Gabriel won't turn 16 until October and already boasts 844,000 followers on Instagram. However, all posts were recently removed from his account. Despite this, Manchester United has not yet given up hope of keeping Gabriel at the club.