Blow for Barcelona as Real Madrid emerge as frontrunners to sign Man United wonderkid – Romano | OneFootball

In what will come as a major blow for FC Barcelona, Fabrizio Romano reports that Real Madrid are currently the frontrunners to sign Manchester United teenage gem JJ Gabriel.

The 15-year-old wonderkid is all set to leave the Red Devils having handed in a transfer request earlier this week, sparking a major transfer battle between top clubs across Europe.

Barcelona, for their part, have admired Gabriel for long now and have been trying to lure him from Manchester United.

Real Madrid leading race

However, in recent days, it is Real Madrid who have pulled ahead in the race to sign the 15-year-old attacking sensation.

As per Romano, Spain is the English jewel’s preferred destination, which pit Barça and Real Madrid as the main rivals for his signing.

Real Madrid leading race for Gabriel. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

However, the two clubs differ in terms of the pathway they are offering for his development, and as things stand, the plan set by the Spanish capital club seems to be of greater appeal to the player.

No final decision has been made yet and the player and his family will make the ultimate call, but, for now, it is Real Madrid who are ahead.

Barcelona must push hard

In recent times, Barcelona sporting director Deco and head of scouting Joao Amaral have shown great acumen in identifying and closing deals for young talents with great potential.

This recruitment policy has seen the Blaugrana land highly talented prospects like Hamza Abdelkarim, Juwensley Onstein, Ajay Tavares, and most recently Jesse Bisiwu.

Barcelona should make a push for Gabriel. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

It goes without saying that Gabriel is another gifted youth player who has a very high ceiling, and therefore, Barcelona cannot afford to come second in the transfer race.

The La Liga champions can use the example of teenage wonderkids like Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, and Xavi Espart, who have already made a first-team breakthrough and established themselves as key players in the senior setup under Hansi Flikc to convince Gabriel.

The Blaugrana already managed to beat Real Madrid in the pursuit of Rodri from Manchester City in the summer and must now step up their efforts to land the precocious teenager from the red half of Manchester.