During Sky Sports' pre-match coverage, Manchester United legend Gary Neville discussed the potential departure of 15-year-old JJ Gabriel. He stated that he couldn't assess whether the player should be in the first team at this stage. However, he felt that the way his team handled the situation was far from ideal, emphasizing that young players at this age should not be subjected to excessive external pressure.

Welcome back to Craven Cottage. We're continuing our pre-match coverage ahead of Manchester United's away fixture against Fulham. Gary Neville, good to see you again. Usually, we meet at the touchline at Old Trafford, but this time we've travelled down here. Gary, it's a nice day weather-wise, isn't it?

Gary Neville: It's a beautiful day. Whichever team picks up three points today will have had a very pleasant afternoon, because both sides desperately need these three points.

Fulham are currently bottom of the table, and they might take some encouragement from Coventry's performance last night. It was an excellent match last night—I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the last 25 minutes. Coventry played very well during that period.

I also smiled when I saw Brandon Thomas-Asante. Of course, I know him well, given our connection with Salford City. He put in an outstanding display last night, and I was delighted to watch it. So last night's match was genuinely entertaining, and Fulham might take some encouragement from it, because they need points urgently. I'm a bit concerned about Fulham. Not because I'm a Fulham fan, of course, but from what I've seen of them this season, I genuinely feel it. Their attacking players are talented but inexperienced. The manager is also clearly still adapting to the Premier League.

The style of football they're playing now, in my view, requires everything to be perfect, with almost no room for error. We've seen this approach before. I think clubs like Sunderland, Leeds United, and even Hull City demonstrated one thing: when promoted teams come up from the Championship, their more direct style of play actually suits the Premier League. Now, it feels a bit like we're going back to short-passing football and possession-based play.

I know Fulham aren't a newly promoted team, but in recent years, teams that have eventually been relegated often play this type of football. So I'm a bit concerned about them, despite today being a crucial match for them.

As for Manchester United, given everything that's happened over the past few weeks, this match has become far more important for them than it should be.

Indeed, there's been a lot happening at Manchester United this week. So I think we can trace events at Old Trafford chronologically. Let's start with the Manchester derby—we all know what happened in that match. A few days later, there was a very significant story regarding 15-year-old JJ Gabriel. As we understand it, the core issue is that his team believes he should be included in the Champions League squad A list, possibly given an opportunity in the match against FK Qarabag, and receive more playing time during pre-season. However, from Manchester United's perspective, they believe they've done almost everything they can. For instance, arranging for him to meet Sir Alex Ferguson, having him meet Ruben Amorim last season, and also allowing him to train with the first team. So Gary, what's your take on this? Of course, I know the heart of all this is a 15-year-old boy, but from an outsider's perspective, what do you see?

First, I can't really comment on whether he should or shouldn't be in the first team. I genuinely can't, because I haven't seen enough of him play. Obviously, he may have seen other players his age already playing for their clubs, and he'll think, "I should be there too."

You just said the heart of this is a 15-year-old boy. I think his representatives don't really know what they're doing. Of course, if they want him to move to another football club, that's their right, and there's no issue with that.

But it's clear that his team chose to publicize this this week. Manchester United certainly wouldn't want to announce news like this themselves, because it doesn't benefit them. So they chose to blow this up at a time when Manchester United have just lost a derby and the club itself is under pressure. But they did it anyway.

If this were my 15-year-old son, I wouldn't want him under this sort of pressure. You know, over the last three or four decades, I've seen many young players aged 16, 17, 18 at Manchester United. It's never good for them to be under intense scrutiny at such a young age. In the past, this was often avoided, and it still should be. You do it whenever possible. For example, look at how Arsenal handled Ethan Nwaneri—you try to shield young players like this from the spotlight, nurture them, and protect them.

But what his representatives did this week essentially muddied the waters. I don't think that's the right approach. Of course, at some point down the line, they could choose to leave. But I don't think he can leave right now.

There is a FIFA precedent where he could join a European club outside the Premier League.

Could he leave immediately?

After he turns 16. That also requires FIFA approval.

When does he turn 16?

I believe it's October 6th.

Ah, so that's what they're working towards. Well, that makes sense. If the boy really wants to play abroad, perhaps they need to start acting now. However, if it were me, I might wait until the international break to sort it out.

The international break is coming up next week. At that point, external noise won't be as intense. I think the timing of how they handled this mid-week was poor. And I can assure you, it doesn't help the boy.

But it's done, and this is the situation now. It certainly doesn't help Manchester United. Some people want to know what's really going on here, and I'm one of them. You know, Manchester United has always been the club of choice for many academy players.

Honestly, they've always believed in giving young players chances, bringing academy players through to the first team, and they're still doing that now. Over the last twelve, thirteen, perhaps even fourteen years, despite the club facing many difficulties, they've continued to develop young players and bring them into the first team.

But if this boy wants to leave, if he's tempted by other options, that's not a problem either. I just feel that in all of this, the situation could have been handled far better.

From Manchester United's perspective, I'm sure they won't be happy with what happened this week. It also sends a poor message to other young players. But if JJ Gabriel eventually does leave, years from now, Manchester United will still be here.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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