Man Utd
JJ Gabriel and the Real Madrid path that awaits after Manchester United exit
Real Madrid are close to Gabriel, but the teenager’s path from United remains uncertain and demanding.
The move that has hovered over JJ Gabriel’s future now looks close to resolution, with Real Madrid reported to be nearing a deal for the teenage forward.
His eligibility to join a club overseas has been helped by his family background. His father is an English-born former Republic of Ireland international, while his mother is Greek-Cypriot, allowing him to move beyond Brexit restrictions in the next transfer window.
Reports already place Gabriel in Spain, where he has been working with a personal trainer, and a January switch now appears to be the likeliest outcome.
Gabriel’s rise has been anything but ordinary. He began with Top Ballerz FC, gained attention through YouTube skills videos while still in elementary school, and later spent time in the academies of Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham before joining Manchester United in 2022. At United, he has broken several records, including appearing for the U-18s at 14 and scoring a hat trick against Sabah in the UEFA Youth League earlier this year.
He also arrives with a sizeable profile away from the pitch, with close to one million Instagram followers and a long-term Nike deal already in place. He is managed by his father, who changed his son’s name from Joseph Junior Andreou O’Cearuill to JJ Gabriel for marketing reasons.
In football terms, he is viewed as a versatile forward who can operate centrally, just behind the striker, or from the left. He has already been compared with Lamine Yamal, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Arsenal teenager Max Dowman.
The break from Manchester United stemmed from a disagreement over his route to first-team football. His exit became more likely after he was left out of the squad to face Sabah in the Champions League. There have also been suggestions that requests linked to training, selection and pay were made on his behalf.
The Telegraph claims that Madrid have “put together a projected fast-track pathway for Gabriel towards the first team.” That may begin with Real Madrid Castilla, but the club are expected to keep open a route into La Liga and the Champions League.
Should the transfer be completed in January, Gabriel could even become Madrid’s youngest-ever player, overtaking Martin Ødegaard. But the Norwegian’s story is a reminder of how difficult that environment can be. As he said in The Players’ Tribune : “With the B team, I wasn’t with them regularly so I didn’t find that connection. In the first team, I was just some kid who came to train. I wasn’t involved in matches. I felt a bit like an outsider. I was stuck in between.”
Ødegaard left permanently in 2021 after only 11 first-team appearances, and Gabriel’s challenge would be no less exacting. Real Madrid may offer a plan on paper, but the reality for a 16-year-old in a demanding second half of the season could prove far less forgiving.
Arsenal
October Premier League award nominees announced
Premier League October award nominees include standout performers and managers across the division.
The Premier League has named the contenders for its October 2026 Player and Manager of the Month awards, with eight players and six managers included on the respective shortlists.
Bournemouth forward Evanilson enjoyed a productive month, finishing October with four goals and one assist from four appearances as his team beat Sunderland, Manchester United and Leeds United after a slow opening to the season.
Aston Villa striker Nicolas Jackson also reached four goals in the month. The former Chelsea player scored twice in the 2-1 win over Manchester City and also found the net in draws against Brentford and Fulham.
Arsenal are represented by Ezri Konsa and Declan Rice after a perfect month. Konsa impressed in defence while William Saliba was absent, keeping two clean sheets in three outings and scoring his first goal for the club. Rice contributed two important assists at the other end.
Jack Rudoni’s form has helped Coventry City. The newly promoted side took two wins from four matches in October, with Rudoni scoring three times as they moved further away from the relegation zone.
Tottenham Hotspur also had an unbeaten month, and Jan Paul van Hecke played a key role in wins over Coventry, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. No player attempted or completed more passes than the Dutch defender last month.
Brighton have two nominees in Luka Vušković and Bart Verbruggen. Three clean sheets in four matches brought recognition for the Seagulls’ defence.
On the managerial shortlist, Chelsea scored more goals than any other team in October with nine, while Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta guided his side to the top of the table. Roberto De Zerbi, Unai Emery, Fabian Hürzeler and Marco Rose complete the list after strong runs during the month.
Month
Player
Club
August
João Pedro
Chelsea
September
Pascal Groß
Brighton
Month
Manager
Club
August
Sergej Jakirović
Hull
September
Aston Villa
Carrick Gets Breathing Space After United’s Roma Fightback
United’s comeback over Roma offers Carrick relief, but Villa and the November break still loom.
Old Trafford has staged many remarkable evenings, but Tuesday’s 3-2 Champions League win over Roma may prove especially significant for Michael Carrick. Trailing by two goals inside 18 minutes, United looked to be heading for a damaging defeat before a Matheus Cunha-inspired recovery changed the mood entirely.
The victory does not erase the wider concerns around the team, yet it at least gives Carrick a platform before the weekend trip to Aston Villa. That match will be United’s final fixture before the November international break, a point at which the club’s decision-makers will have a clear chance to weigh up the manager’s future and consider whether a change is needed.
At half-time, with boos around the stadium and United behind, Carrick’s position appeared seriously threatened. Instead, the second half offered a striking response. Any suggestion that the players had stopped battling for him was undermined by a much sharper and more determined 45 minutes.
The numbers reflected the shift. In the opening half, United produced just 0.24 expected goals, five shots and one effort on target, while Roma held the edge in every key area. After the break, the hosts generated 2.46 expected goals, registered 10 shots and placed five efforts on target, scoring three times in the process.
That turnaround gives Carrick a measure of relief and guarantees he will lead the side against Villa. United could still have acted before the break if another poor result had followed, but the 45-year-old now has another opportunity to strengthen his case.
Villa are unbeaten in their last five Premier League matches, yet United can draw comfort from the recent record in this fixture, having won six of the last eight meetings and 13 of the last 15 at Old Trafford.
Even so, the pressure remains intense. United have won only three of their 14 matches across all competitions this season, while public criticism from Lisandro Martínez and Bruno Fernandes has added to the strain. Carrick may have bought time, but the wider picture still leaves his future uncertain.
Aston Villa
Cunha available for Aston Villa after Champions League dismissal
Cunha’s Champions League red-card ban will not rule him out of Manchester United’s Aston Villa fixture.
Matheus Cunha’s eventful Champions League night against Roma ended with celebration, controversy and a suspension that will not affect Manchester United this weekend.
Cunha was central to the comeback, first by earning the penalty that helped change the game and then by scoring the winner after United had been pushed into a strong late position. Bruno Fernandes had earlier converted a retaken penalty early in the second half, before Cunha levelled after a Leo Balerdi error and then finished clinically at Devis Vásquez’s near post following Shea Lacey’s pass.
The Brazilian’s decisive contribution came with a cost. He collected two yellow cards in the closing stages, leaving him with a one-match ban. Even so, Manchester United can still call on him against Aston Villa on Sunday, because disciplinary suspensions from UEFA competition do not carry into the Premier League.
That means the ban will instead be served later this month, when United meet Sporting CP in Lisbon on Matchday 5 of the league phase, on Nov. 25.
Cunha’s first booking came after his goal, as he took off his shirt and then jumped into the crowd, both of which counted against him. The second arrived after Jesús Gil Manzano, who had awarded United a penalty at the start of the second half, was left with no option but to caution him again for his stoppage-time challenge on Balerdi.
It was a dramatic conclusion to a night that had already swung sharply in United’s favour, with Cunha emerging as the key figure in a revival that may have eased the pressure on Michael Carrick, at least for now.
