Manchester United's JJ Gabriel Included for Atletico Madrid Friendly
Manchester United’s pre-season steps into sharper focus on Saturday — and so does the spotlight on JJ Gabriel.
The 15-year-old forward has been named in Michael Carrick’s 23-man squad for the friendly against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, a bold show of faith as United raise the level of their opposition after a comfortable 5-0 win over Rosenborg in Trondheim.
This is not a bloated tour group. Carrick has trimmed the numbers from the parties that travelled to Helsinki and Trondheim, a clear sign that this weekend is less about minutes for everyone and more about sharpening those who are edging towards the real thing.
Teenager stays in, others fall away
Gabriel keeps his place after remaining unused in Norway, one of only two outfield players not to feature against Rosenborg along with midfielder Jim Thwaites. Both are on the plane again, trusted to stay around the senior environment even as other youngsters drop out.
Toby Collyer, Dan Gore, Jacob Devaney and Chido Obi are the ones to miss out this time. They tasted the tour, but the bar has risen. Diego Simeone’s Atletico do that to a fixture. This is a different kind of examination.
For Gabriel, just being in that dressing room again, this time against La Liga opposition, is another significant step. A debut might not come in Stockholm, but the message is clear: the door is open.
Bayindir and Amad back from World Cup duty
The headline returns come in goal and in attack. Altay Bayindir and Amad rejoin the group after their World Cup involvement and a brief break, both back in the squad having reported to Carrington at the start of the week.
Their inclusion gives Carrick more senior depth at both ends of the pitch. Bayindir joins Tom Heaton, Elyh Mee and Radek Vitek in the goalkeeping department, while Amad adds another option in the forward areas and a familiar creative spark out wide.
Not everyone who has just come back is ready. Belgian pair Senne Lammens and Youri Tielemans checked in on Thursday, but the Atletico fixture comes too quickly for them. Their time will come later in pre-season.
A tighter, more focused group
This is the United squad named to face Atletico Madrid at Stockholm’s Strawberry Arena:
- Goalkeepers: Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Elyh Mee, Radek Vitek.
- Defenders: Harry Amass, Jack Armer, Patrick Dorgu, Habeeb Ogunneye Heaven, Louis Kamason, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro.
- Midfielders: Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, Mason Mount, Santos, Jim Thwaites.
The absence of several youngsters who featured earlier in the schedule underlines the shift. Wrexham in Helsinki and Rosenborg in Trondheim were about broad assessment. Atletico is about tightening the screws.
Simeone’s teams don’t do gentle friendlies. They press, they scrap, they test your shape and your nerve. For Carrick, it is an ideal barometer of where his group stands, and for Gabriel, it is a front-row seat — perhaps even a stage — for the kind of contest he dreams of making his own.
