“He’s the next one”: Gushing Rio Ferdinand compares JJ Gabriel to Man United great

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has drawn bold comparisons between wonderkid JJ Gabriel and a club icon.

Gabriel’s stock is quickly rising within United’s youth system, where he is being hailed as one of the most exciting prospects at the club.

Over the weekend, he scored an impressive 22-minute hat-trick for United’s Under-18s as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Derby County.

His three goals were just the latest of what has been an incredible start to the season for Gabriel, who has notched five goals in his opening three games for the Under-18s. Notably, he’s still just 14, but playing at a level that surpasses his age group.

Earlier this year, Gabriel became United’s youngest-ever Under-18s debutant when he came on from the bench to score twice in a 13-1 hammering of Leeds. He has drawn interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, but United are hoping to keep him for the foreseeable future, with a pathway to the first team in sight.

Speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel , Ferdinand waxed lyrical about Gabriel, likening the starlet to Wayne Rooney.

Ferdinand said, “I’ve been watching my old mate, Darren Fletcher is now the manager of the under-18s, doing a fabulous job there.”

“Keep hearing him talk about Man United , DNA, and making players run, be aggressive, and having to be relentless. I watched him the other day smash up a few teams’ last three or four games, banged in goals galore. But could have scored more, dominating teams.”

The six-time Premier League winner continued, “They’ve got a kid called JJ Gabriel. I know you’ve heard of him. Wow. He’s got a massive chance. Massive.”

“He’s the one who could be mentioned alongside Rio [Ngumoha] and Max Dowman. He’s the next one, I’m telling you.”

“Love to see it. And these kids have got confidence, I don’t think that lads in our generation [had], only the likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Joe Cole, I’ve seen confidence like that.”

United are taking a measured approach with Gabriel, managing both his progress and the growing hype to shield him from excessive pressure.

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