'New houses, job offers, gifts': Man United's struggle to stop JJ Gabriel joining rivals revealed
Manchester United are up against a series of life-changing promises from other clubs when it comes to their battle to keep teenage prodigy JJ Gabriel.
That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Red Devils simply should have foreseen the issue earlier.
The 15-year-old forward has made it clear that he wants to leave Old Trafford, with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG making big pushes to sign him.
Wyness believes that Gabriel's father has been "leading the charge" for his son to move, and feels that United should have effectively "man-marked" him to ensure that the family were happy.
Instead, they now face the prospect of losing one of their most prestigious young talents for effectively nothing.
Gabriel is eligible for an EU passport when he turns 16 on 6 October, and that would see him able to leave United for free.
JJ Gabriel being swayed by elite agents
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Gabriel's exit plan will largely have been driven by the elite agents who are circling him.
Players cannot sign on with an agent until their 16th birthday, but that has not stopped them from getting close to Gabriel.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained some of the promises that are likely to have been thrown towards the starlet and his family.
"Well, it's a difficult one, and it does seem that the father is playing a rather major role in this and I've had too much experience in dealing with pushy parents who believe they've all got the next superstar in their hands," he said.
"Dealing with them is very difficult, particularly when agents also get into these parents, start loaning them money and promising them all sorts of things. It's a very difficult situation.
"I don't know them personally, so it's hard for me to actually validate, but it does seem the father's leading the charge in terms of things. It's pretty poor that United haven't been able to read the tea leaves in this and read this one coming.
"They should have known that the father was obviously angling in certain ways, but they should have been really close to the father. If this kid's so special, then he should have been man-marked in terms of the way that the relationship was going with United and the family.
"Agents will be getting in the parents' ears. There will be offers for all sorts of things. They'll be offering them houses, they'll be offering them jobs, they'll be offering them all sorts of money. And it's that sort of environment that's very difficult to handle."
JJ Gabriel causing dressing room issues
Former United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider last week that he believes Gabriel is causing issues within the academy setup at his former club.
The ex-recruitment boss made it clear that in his recent experience of watching the U21s, he does not believe there is a level of enthusiasm from Gabriel's teammates to go and celebrate with him after goals.
Brown believes that Gabriel's "character" may be causing divides within the dressing room in the younger agegroups of the club.
He feels that his exit from Old Trafford may ultimately prove to be the right thing long-term, if the issues were to continue.