Man United's teenager superstar JJ Gabriel creates history: When could Ruben Amorim hand the generational talent his first-team debut?

Manchester United wonderkid JJ Gabriel created history on Tuesday, with the attacker becoming the youngest player to represent the Red Devils in the FA Youth Cup.

JJ Gabriel was named in the starting XI against Peterborough United Under-18s at the age of 15 years, two months and three days old, which saw him break the record previously held by Omari Forson, who was 15 years and four months old when he played in the competition.

The forward scored the only goal of the match in the narrow win for Man United Under-18s, carefully placing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty box.

JJ Gabriel has trained with the first team this season, and he is viewed as one of the standout youngsters in world football, with a first-team debut potentially occurring before his 16th birthday.

A number of clubs are believed to have made an attempt to sign JJ Gabriel over the summer, but Man United's director of football Jason Wilcox and head of recruitment Matt Hargreaves are both said to have played a major role in convincing him to stay.

???‍♂️ Manchester United talent JJ Gabriel, in first team training today at 15 years old.

Seen as one of the best talents of #MUFC Academy, key part of long term project. pic.twitter.com/idheRLyz7P
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 23, 2025

Man United's JJ Gabriel is viewed as a generational talent

The forward recently netted a hat-trick against Liverpool Under-18s to make it 10 goals in 10 appearances for Man United Under-18s during the current season, and he has also since taken to the field against Newcastle United-18s in the Under-18s Premier League.

There has recently been fresh speculation surrounding JJ Gabriel's future, with Barcelona believed to be making another attempt to sign him, but Man United are said to be confident of holding off the latest round of interest.

“Like everyone, I know he is a really talented guy and everyone paid attention on social media," Man United head coach Ruben Amorim recently said when asked about JJ Gabriel.

“You could see the U21s had a game and we had less players and tried to pick players for training that have talent. Not just for me to see for tomorrow but for them to feel what it means to be in the first team, the difficulties playing against our defenders, the difficulty of our training, the pace.

“If we can use every training we have to show the kids what they need to do to be here, it is important, not just for JJ but for everyone.”

JJ Gabriel could become Man United's youngest-ever first-team player

Man United's youngest-ever player is Angel Gomes, who featured for the first team at the age of 16 years and 263 days old in May 2017.

The overall Premier League record is held by Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri, who debuted for the Gunners at the age of 15 years and 181 days old.

Meanwhile, Arsenal's Max Dowman and Leicester City's Jeremy Monga are the only other two players to turn out in the Premier League at the age of 15, so JJ Gabriel could join an exclusive list if he features before his 16th birthday.

JJ Gabriel cannot make his first-team debut for Man United until January due to age-related Premier League regulations, but it would certainly not be a surprise to see the youngster feature for the senior side in the second half of the 2025-26 campaign.