JJ Gabriel: Why wonderkid misses Wrexham clash revealed

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The Peoples Person

17 July 2026

Manchester United

have announced their first travelling squad ahead of their opening pre-season game of the summer against Wrexham on Saturday.

With the exception of Benjamin Sesko and new recruit Karl Darlow, all the heavy hitters have

made the trip to Helsinki

, including

Andrey Santos

Several stars have been given extended breaks following their World Cup exertions. As a result, quite a few academy wonderkids have made the trip to Finland.

However, there is one notable absence, with fans disappointed to note that JJ Gabriel did not make the squad.

The

15-year-old

is among the most highly rated talents to emerge from the Carrington pipeline, and there were murmurs he could have become the youngest-ever debutant

in the FA Cup last season

That did not materialise, while a Premier League debut was

not allowed by the rules

. This season is being seen as the year the England Under-17 international finally makes his first team debut.

–

Friday, 17 July 2026

Fans will not be seeing the versatile attacker in action at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, with the forward’s father revealing that the wonderkid was given an extended break.

He only rejoined pre-season training the day before the team left, and the expectation is that he will make the squad for the friendly against Rosenborg in Trondheim.

“JJ Gabriel will miss Manchester United’s game against Wrexham tomorrow as today was his first session back with the group – he had extended leave.

“However, he will be READY for the next game against Rosenborg,” the player’s father wrote on

(formerly

Twitter

Last season, JJ Gabriel notched an impressive 26 goals and four assists in only 29 games across all competitions.

He clinched

several awards

as a result, and hopefully, he can make his mark in pre-season with fans desperate to catch a glimpse of this immense talent.

Feature image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

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