Michael Carrick breaks silence on JJ Gabriel after Man United wonderkid, 15, asks to leave

Michael Carrick has spoken for the first time publicly about highly-talented youngster JJ Gabriel’s request to leave Manchester United.

The Red Devils were shellshocked when the 15-year-old informed them of his desire to leave on Tuesday afternoon.

The teenager was in line to make his debut during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup shocking 3-2 third-round defeat by Brighton but those plans were rescinded following that bombshell news.

And speaking about the situation in the aftermath of their shocking loss, Carrick refused to be too drawn about what is going on.

‘I just think we’ve got to be really careful of the whole situation.

‘He’s a young boy, he’s 15 and the biggest (thing) for me definitely and as a club point of view is looking after our younger players. Their welfare, their wellbeing, their exposure.

‘And I think all of us we’ve got to be really conscious of that, really, in this situation.

‘As a club, for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.’

There is hope within the club that the situation can be rectified given his deal with United runs until the summer and he cannot be deregistered.

It is unclear what triggered the situation but the news is an unwanted distraction and comes less than a week after his hat-trick heroics on his UEFA Youth League debut against Sabah.

Gabriel, who does not turn 16 until October, became the youngest-ever winner of the club’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award last season.