Barcelona set to face Real Madrid, Chelsea battle to sign 15-year-old Man United prodigy | OneFootball

As reported earlier today, Manchester United teenage wonderkid has shocked the club by asking to leave by terminating his contract.

The 15-year-old academy gem has long been on the radars of FC Barcelona, and the development surrounding his future is certain to have piqued the interest of the La Liga champions.

Competition for Barcelona

However, signing the youngster will not be easy as several other top clubs across Europe are also understood to be keen.

Indeed, according to talkSPORT, Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid are also in the race for the signature of JJ Gabriel, while Premier League heavy-spenders Chelsea are interested as well.

Beyond that, there is interest from Germany as well, where Bayern Munich are expected to be monitoring the 15-year-old’s situation closely.

JJ Gabriel wants to leave Man United. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

As per the report, both Barcelona and Real Madrid have been making pitches to the English prodigy about their sporting project to convince him to make the move.

Chelsea have also been keeping an eye on him ever since it emerged during the summer that the youngster was not very happy at United.

Able to move once he turns 16

Gabriel is an attacking player who primarily plays on the left flank or as a No. 10.

Regarded as one of the most gifted young talents in England, he can leave Manchester United for any club in Europe once he turns 16, as he also possesses an Irish passport.

Barcelona have been long-term admirers of the teenage prodigy, and in recent times, Deco and Joao Amaral have shown that they can pull off deals of this nature, having roped in talents like Ajay Tavares, Juwensley Onstein, and Jesse Bisiwu, among others.

Barcelona, Real Madrid among clubs interested. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

But the transfer race is heating up, with Real Madrid also making a push and Chelsea also in the hunt for the wonderkid.

At the same time, despite Gabriel requesting his contract termination, Manchester United are not giving up and hope to salvage the situation.

After all, they consider him a key part of their plans for the future and were set to include him in the squad for tomorrow’s Carabao Cup game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

So, it will certainly be interesting to see how this transfer story develops and whether Barcelona position themselves as a contender to sign Gabriel.