JJ Gabriel has already made good on Marcus Rashford prediction as Man Utd update arrives

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JJ Gabriel has wasted little time delivering on his potential for Manchester United's Under-18 side. Former United academy product Marcus Rashford backed the teenager to develop into a future star and reckons he's already reached that level - despite Gabriel having yet to make his senior debut.

The England youth international, who celebrated his 15th birthday in October, is a few weeks too young to be allowed to make his Premier League debut this season. He has nevertheless trained alongside the first-team squad under Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick while providing plenty of reminders of his quality when representing United's Under-18s.

Gabriel made his debut for the team at 14, becoming the youngest ever player to turn out for the Red Devils in the Under-18 Premier League. It didn't require long for him to also claim their youngest scorer status, netting twice as a substitute in a 13-1 victory over Leeds .

At the time, Rashford was on loan at Aston Villa . This didn't prevent him from responding to the teenager's post celebrating his milestone, though, writing "Future star" and adding a star emoji.

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Since that goalscoring introduction, Gabriel has shown no signs of slowing down. He has found the net 18 times in 19 fixtures in the Under-18 Premier League this campaign and also has two goals in the FA Youth Cup, becoming United's youngest FA scorer in the competition thanks to his winner against Peterborough.

Rashford, who is currently on loan at Barcelona , has been monitoring the youngster's progress from afar. Gabriel posted images of himself training with the senior squad once more, prompting Rashford to comment: "Lil bro is a star" without the need to use the word 'future' to qualify the statement.

Both players are in action this week. Gabriel will be aiming to propel United into the FA Youth Cup semi-finals when they take on Sunderland on Wednesday while Rashford will be hundreds of miles away as Barcelona host Newcastle in the Champions League .

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United caretaker manager Carrick recently discussed including Gabriel in first-team training sessions. "He is not allowed [to be part of a first-team squad on a matchday]. He's too young," the 44-year-old said.

"JJ's doing really well. We've got some really good players in the academy and we try and get the younger players up [with the main group] as much as we can."

He continued: "We're always trying to give them (academy prospects) that exposure. JJ is a big talent, it is pretty obvious and he has had a good season for the Under-18s. We think an awful lot of him.

"But patience is important in managing everything that comes with that and developing him and picking the right moment to step up, to leave them in a certain place. He's trained well and it is good to have young players up."

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