Deco clarifies Barcelona stance on move for Manchester United wonderkid JJ Gabriel | OneFootball

In recent weeks, Barcelona have been strongly linked with a move for JJ Gabriel, who is expected to leave Manchester United imminently. The 15-year-old will not sign a professional contract with the Premier League giants when he turns 16 next month, with his intention being to move to either Catalonia or the Spanish capital, where Real Madrid are working on a deal.

Gabriel is a player that Barcelona had on their radar long before this saga, which is why it is no surprise that they have been strongly linked. However, it appears their interest has been exaggerated, with sporting director Deco having now moved to clarify the club’s position on a move for the highly-rated teenager.

Speaking this week at the Portugal Football Summit football congress in Lisbon (via MD), Deco has confirmed that Barcelona are not currently working on signing Gabriel, instead claiming that the club’s name has been used to drive up interest.

“There’s nothing to say about this guy. It is common for certain players to always be linked with us. As for his situation, I don’t know what happened. It’s an issue that we’re not involved in because, first and foremost, we need to understand all the circumstances before we try to do anything or talk about young, teenage players.”

It would be a surprise if Barcelona didn’t try to sign Gabriel

Considering that Gabriel has often been referred to as one of the best players in his age group, it would be surprising if Barcelona decided not to make a serious attempt to sign him, given he can be signed easily. Deco’s comments could be a way of throwing the media off the scent, although it’s unclear at this whether that is the case.

Nevertheless, more will be known in the lead-up to Gabriel’s 16th birthday on the 6th of October, at which point he will likely have decided where he wants to continue his career.