Darren Bent makes Arsenal claim amid JJ Gabriel transfer interest | Football

Darren Bent believes Arsenal may have doubts about signing JJ Gabriel and would ‘100 per cent’ do background checks on the youngster’s character before making a move to sign him from Manchester United.

There was shock last week as the news broke that Gabriel had asked for his registration with United to be cancelled with immediate effect.

The 15-year-old has been fast-tracked through United’s academy ranks, having been with the club since the age of 11, and is widely considered to be among the brightest young talents in world football.

The teenager first began training with United’s first-team squad when Ruben Amorim was manager and was named the Under-18 Premier League Player of the Season last term.

But Gabriel looks set to move on without making a senior appearance for his boyhood team, even though Michael Carrick had reportedly been planning to select the forward in his squad for United’s Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Brighton last week.

According to The Sun, Carrick’s decision to field both Shea Lacey and Harry Amass in United’s Champions League victory over Sabah last week proved to be the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ for Gabriel’s camp.

Arsenal and Chelsea have been credited with an interest in Gabriel in recent days, while La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are also believed to be exploring potential bids for the England Under-17 international.

‘Manchester United can’t be held to ransom, first and foremost, they’re too powerful of an organisation, with too much history, to allow one kid who hasn’t started yet dictate what they want to do,’ ex-England, Tottenham and Charlton striker Bent said when asked about Gabriel’s situation on talkSPORT.

‘We’ve seen some fantastic young kids come through at that football club. Yes, some have gone on to become some of the best we’ve ever seen but we’ve also seen some that have almost been lost by the wayside.

‘Listen, social media is a big thing and he’s got a massive following before he’s even started yet. You’re gonna get a lot of guys on social media pumping him up, hyping him up… he hasn’t done anything yet!

‘So I almost think at that age, when you’re on the cusp of the first-team, maybe someone else should run your social media for you so then you don’t see that.

‘Sometimes it’s about decisions and his time will come. I just don’t understand that at 15, when you’ve barely scratched the surface, why you would try and throw demands out like that.

‘There are more senior players out there who are more accomplished than you who have conducted themselves better than this.’

Bent cannot believe a player still yet to play a single minute for United’s senior team has managed to get himself embroiled in such an ugly dispute over his future.

‘Manchester United will have more [youngsters],’ he added.

‘Football moves on very quickly so we know how great this kid is expected to be but there will always be another great.

‘He’s at Manchester United. My little boy is at Coventry, I’ve played against Manchester United, they had like four teams in the Under-12s and there’s just loads of kids.

‘They will find one but again, I don’t think anything is worth this before it has even started. It’s different if he’s 15, has got himself in the first-team, scored a few goals.’

Asked if Arsenal would move Max Dowman on if he was behaving in a similar way to Gabriel and his camp, Bent replied: ‘I think you have to and I think Mikel Arteta would do that, I think Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] would do that.

‘It would be a shame but I think later on down the line, it would turn out to be the right decision.

‘For JJ Gabriel, he’s not going to win Manchester United the league now so I’m telling you now, another wonderkid will come along.

‘There will always be another superstar that comes through with the right attitude.

‘Arsenal had Ethan Nwaneri and everyone was like, “Oh my goodness”, Myles Lewis-Skelly, there will always be another one.’

Bent – a lifelong fan of Arsenal – is confident the Gunners would do their due diligence on Gabriel if they are seriously interested in signing the forward, as recent reports have indicated.

‘What they’d 100 per cent do is their due diligence,’ he continued.

‘So say he was going to go to Arsenal, JJ Gabriel, Arsenal straightaway would go, “Hold on a second here”, because they would have played against Manchester United and seen how special he is.

‘First thing they’d do is go, “Hold on a second, why is he going to be leaving?”, so they would call up Manchester United straightaway and go: “Alright, what’s the problem?”

‘If Arsenal are thinking about taking him then Arsenal would call up Manchester United straightaway and ask what’s the problem.

‘That happens all over the globe. It goes on even at first-team level: what’s he like as a character? Why is he leaving?’

Reports on Friday claimed Gabriel had held talks with Paris Saint-Germain before travelling to Spain for a separate round of discussions with La Liga champions Barcelona.

United have the power to block Gabriel from leaving until the end of the season if they decide to hold on to the attacker’s registration.

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