Man Utd's Gabriel in limbo

Had the situation worked out differently, 15-year-old JJ Gabriel would have been preparing for his Manchester United debut tonight and potentially becoming the club's youngest player.

Instead, the young forward is in limbo, having asked United for his registration to be cancelled , which would allow him to join one of the many clubs across Europe who are very keen to sign him.

The crux of the issue goes back to what he feels were promises that have been made around a pathway to the first team, specifically in pre-season, that weren't honoured – Gabriel was part of four squads but only featured for eight minutes. He travelled to Norway for the meeting with Rosenborg on 24 July but didn't get on, even though head coach Michael Carrick made 11 substitutions - including five players who have since left the club, either on loan or permanently.

Then Gabriel was not registered for the Champions League encounter with Sabah FK last week. He would have needed to have been on Uefa's A list of players, but was omitted, even though Manuel Ugarte – who is injured and won't be available until after the league phase when players can be re-registered - and 18-year-old new arrival Tynan Thompson, were named.

So, while United sources are adamant it was intended Gabriel would have been involved against Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, sources close to him had no confidence he would actually get on the pitch.

United say they feel the situation can be rectified, and chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are involved. They also say they will not release Gabriel from his registration, which runs to the end of the season.

It will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds.