Michael Carrick has expressed satisfaction with the development of teenage prodigy JJ Gabriel following the 15-year-old’s latest involvement in Manchester United first-team training this week. Whilst Gabriel remains ineligible for Premier League action this season due to his age, he has participated in senior training sessions at Carrington on multiple occasions, with his performances for the Under-18s proving particularly impressive.

The youngster has netted 20 goals across 22 matches this campaign, with Carrick monitoring his progression closely. The United interim manager has championed the academy system since his appointment in January, even rescheduling Friday’s press conference to earlier in the day to enable him to attend the Under-21s’ Premier League 2 fixture against Southampton at Carrington, which kicked off at 1pm.

Carrick confirmed that having only celebrated his 15th birthday in October, Gabriel is also too young to feature for the Under-21s in Premier League 2, yet Carrick recognises the exceptional ability possessed by the young striker.

“He’s too young [to play for U21s or senior team] He’s doing really well, JJ,” Carrick said. “We’ve got some really good young players in the academy and we try and get the younger players up as much as we can.

“We’re always trying to give that exposure to the players to come and train and feel it. JJ is a big talent, it’s pretty obvious to know that, and he’s had a really good season for the under-18s.

“We obviously think an awful lot of him, but patience is important in managing everything that comes with that and working with him in development as we do with all the different age groups and younger players and picking the right moment to step up, picking the moment to leave them in a certain place and ups and downs.

“When he’s trained, he’s done well, as you’d expect, and it’s good to have the younger players come up with us.”