Manchester United's Derby Challenge: Rashford and Gabriel's Futures
Manchester United brushed Sabah aside in midweek. Four goals, none in reply, a comfortable Champions League opener and a reminder that Michael Carrick’s team can still cut loose when the mood takes them.
Now comes something far more serious.
On Sunday, Old Trafford stages the first Manchester derby of the season, and the first with Enzo Maresca in the opposite dugout. The Italian knows the walk down the tunnel here all too well; his last visit ended in a 2-1 defeat with Chelsea back in September 2025. He returns on the back of a hard-earned European win over Porto, with City already looking sharper than their neighbours in the league.
United, by contrast, have just one victory from their opening three Premier League games. Even a derby win will not be enough to haul them above City. Carrick did not try to dress that up after the Sabah rout.
“Results-wise, it hasn't been the start we wanted, we wanted more points in the league,” he admitted, the 4-0 scoreline doing little to disguise the early-season frustration.
The irony is that Carrick’s attacking options are suddenly humming. Forwards are scoring, youngsters are pushing, and yet two of the most talked-about names at Old Trafford – Marcus Rashford and JJ Gabriel – are far from guaranteed a place in Sunday’s starting XI.
Rashford’s Barcelona chapter closes
Rashford’s summer in Barcelona was supposed to be a crossroads. He hit double figures for both goals and assists on loan, adapted quickly and gave Barça a direct, vertical threat from wide areas. On numbers alone, a permanent deal felt like a formality.
It never came.
Instead, Barcelona turned to another England international, Anthony Gordon. Sporting director Deco has now laid out the reasoning behind that call, lifting the lid on why Rashford’s loan spell ended without a buy option being triggered.
“One of the things we saw that was difficult last year was the fact that, when we were without Raphinha, the team's energy seemed to drop,” Deco told Marca, outlining a problem that had been nagging at the coaching staff.
They scoured the market for wingers. The reality hit quickly.
“We looked at many wingers, but signing players in the Premier League is almost impossible, you see the figures involved,” he said.
Gordon, though, ticked the right boxes.
“He (Gordon) was the profile that best fit. The great advantage is that the players are excited to come to our project.”
The message is clear. Rashford delivered, but Barça wanted a different type of wide forward – one they believed could replicate Raphinha’s relentless intensity and help solve a structural issue. Gordon, in Deco’s eyes, matched that brief more closely.
For United, it leaves Rashford back where it all began, walking into a derby week with his long-term club future settled for now but his short-term role less certain. Carrick has other in-form attackers, competition is fierce, and the manager has already shown he is willing to make big calls in big games.
Gabriel’s route to the first team
If Rashford represents the established star in a state of flux, JJ Gabriel is the opposite: a teenager on the brink, tugging at the first-team door.
Gabriel sparkled in pre-season, catching the eye with his movement and finishing, but he is still waiting for his competitive debut. His latest reminder came in the UEFA Youth League, where he tore into Sabah with a hat-trick that underlined why so many at Carrington rate him so highly.
Academy coach Adam Lawrence has mapped out how United intend to handle that rising hype.
“JJ is surrounded by people that really believe in him,” Lawrence said. “From the top of the club right the way through. Where he's been at the club for so long, he's got good relationships with the players, with the staff.”
That familiarity matters. It gives Gabriel a support network and a sense of belonging that many young talents lack when they first brush up against senior football.
“Over the course of time that helps as well,” Lawrence added. “At the moment just in terms of his game, his games programme, his training programme, making sure that he's getting the right exposure across different levels.”
United are trying to strike a balance: enough minutes to challenge him, not so many that he skips vital stages of development.
“We're obviously not perfect but it's definitely something we put a lot of thought into. So yeah, it's good to see him just enjoying his football and in a good place for sure.”
For now, that means patience. Gabriel’s hat-trick against Sabah’s youth side will not suddenly catapult him into Carrick’s XI for a derby of this magnitude, but it does keep his name in the conversation every time the manager glances at his bench.
Carrick’s attacking puzzle before City
Carrick’s first game back in charge of United was this very fixture. That day, his side beat City 2-0 and the result felt like a statement, a line in the sand after a difficult spell.
This time, the context is different. United are chasing, not setting the pace. City arrive under a new manager but with the same expectation of control, the same demand to dominate.
Inside Carrington, the attacking unit is making life complicated in the best possible way. Established names are trying to prove they should not be rotated. Youngsters like Gabriel are insisting, with every goal at youth level, that they are ready for more.
Rashford’s Barcelona story has closed. Gabriel’s United story is only just beginning. On Sunday, in the heat of a derby, Carrick must decide how much of each to write into his latest chapter.
