JJ Gabriel has asked for his registration with Manchester United to be cancelled (Picture: Getty) Darren Bent believes Arsenal may have doubts about signing JJ Gabriel and would ‘100 per cent’ do background checks on the youngster’s character before making a move to sign him from Manchester United. There was shock last week as the news broke that Gabriel had asked for his registration with United to be cancelled with immediate effect. The 15-year-old has been fast-tracked through United’s academy ranks, having been with the club since the age of 11, and is widely considered to be among the brightest young talents in world football. The teenager first began training with United’s first-team squad when Ruben Amorim was manager and was named the Under-18 Premier League Player of the Season last term. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. But Gabriel looks set to move on without making a senior appearance for his boyhood team, even though Michael Carrick had reportedly been planning to select the forward in his squad for United’s Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Brighton last week. According to The Sun, Carrick’s decision to field both Shea Lacey and Harry Amass in United’s Champions League victory over Sabah last week proved to be the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ for Gabriel’s camp. Arsenal and Chelsea have been credited with an interest in Gabriel in recent days, while La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are also believed to be exploring potential bids for the England Under-17 international. The teenager is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Red Devils (Picture: Getty) United cannot be ‘held to ransom’ by Gabriel, says Bent (Picture: talkSPORT) ‘Manchester United can’t be held to ransom, first and foremost, they’re too powerful of an organisation, with too much history, to allow one kid who hasn’t started yet dictate what they want to do,’ ex-England, Tottenham and Charlton striker Bent said when asked about Gabriel’s situation on talkSPORT. ‘We’ve seen some fantastic young kids come through at that football club. Yes, some have gone on to become some of the best we’ve ever seen but we’ve also seen some that have almost been lost by the wayside. ‘Listen, social media is a big thing and he’s got a massive following before he’s even started yet. You’re gonna get a lot of guys on social media pumping him up, hyping him up… he hasn’t done anything yet! Gabriel has regularly trained with United’s first-team squad (Picture: Getty) ‘So I almost think at that age, when you’re on the cusp of the first-team, maybe someone else should run your social media for you so then you don’t see that. ‘Sometimes it’s about decisions and his time will come. I just don’t understand that at 15, when you’ve barely scratched the surface, why you would try and throw demands out like that. ‘There are more senior players out there who are more accomplished than you who have conducted themselves better than this.’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Carrick: We've got to be really careful with the JJ Gabriel situation","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/17\/5864125374015386424\/480x270_MP4_5864125374015386424.mp4","description":"JJ Gabriel is rumoured to be considering a move to a Premier League rival after asking to leave Manchester United and Michael Carrick wants the situation to be handled 'carefully'.","duration":"T46S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/17\/12\/111306449-0-image-a-19_1789643613967.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-17T12:12:51+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.d
