Despite the transfer window being closed, one of the most talked about players at the moment is 15-year-old Manchester United youth product JJ Gabriel. The teenager has been catching the eyes of many with his performances and has set the footballing world on fire in recent weeks with his surprising request to leave the English team. Given his talent, a number of the top clubs in Europe, including Bayern Munich, are keeping tabs on the player, with the race getting more and more competitive as the weeks go by.
With other teams like Real Madrid and PSG also hot on his trail, Bayern will need a helping hand as they look to keep up in the race, and that help has come, and it's come from the most unlikely of places, FC Barcelona.
As being reported by GOAL.com, Barcelona sporting director Deco has denied his club have any interest in Manchester United wonderkid JJ Gabriel, effectively pulling the Spanish side out of the running to land his signature. This now helps to clear a path for Bayern to get closer to the front of the line, with the German club seriously interested in bringing the youngster to the Allianz Arena in the near future.
Bayern Munich handed a clear path to JJ Gabriel from the most unlikely of places
As mentioned earlier, Gabriel has somewhat stirred up the pot at Manchester United recently with his request to leave, which is believed to be driven by his entourage due to a lack of first-team opportunities. He has yet to make a senior team appearance for United, however, he has been tearing it up in the Premier League 2 and UEFA Youth League, grabbing five goals and two assists through just three games so far this season, including a hat-trick in the UEFA Youth League.
He is already showing incredible talent at just 15-years-old, and his potential is through the roof, so it makes sense why a number of top teams are fighting for his signature. Many assumed Barcelona would be one of those teams, but Deco has completely shut down any talk of their interest going on to say:
"There's nothing to say about this boy. It's normal that players are linked with us. It always happens. There's a huge market for that with a lot of interests involved, even when the players are young. But we are not interested in any player in his situation. I'm not sure what's happening, and if he's still a Manchester United player. We are not involved in that."Barcelona sporting director, Deco
An upfront denial of Barcelona's interest is as clear-cut as it can get, meaning we can officially rule the Spanish champions out of the competition, which is a major boost for Bayern. Competing with teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and PSG for transfers has always been tough for Bayern, so for one of them to rule themselves out makes things that much easier for the German club.
Whether or not JJ Gabriel will end up at Bayern remains up in the air, as it is still early days, and with his 16th birthday coming in October, that could be a massive turning point in the saga. He would officially be allowed to sign with an agency at that point, which could complicate things as his asking price would no doubt sky rocket cause we all know that's what agents love to do in the modern game.
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