The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Hello, good morning, sports fans, I hope you’re well, looking after yourselves. We need to talk about an important issue, in my opinion, and that is about the issue of youth talent in football.

For the football fanatics amongst you, you will be aware that Manchester United have been in the headlines. Shock, horror. United are always in the news, I hear you say, but what makes this diffeent is that, it’s a youngster that is that is catching the world’s attention.

JJ Gabriel is the player that we are referring to here. The 15-year-old Enfield-born attacker has excelled in all of United’s age groups and has even been playing with the Under-21s.

Another British talent is subject to interest from abroad. Jude Bellingham, his brother Jobe, and Jadon Sancho are among many young British talents playing their trade in mainland Europe.

There’s an element of this that doesn’t feel right. It wasn’t that long ago Spain’s hottest talent was getting poached by England’s top clubs. Cesc Fabregas, Gerrard, and Pique are some of the more famous examples.

I respect the fact that there were no doubt many more. What’s made life full circle is, for example, the case of Jadon Sancho, a player polished in the Man City reserves, who played at Dortmund.

The former England international would return to England, but only for an astronomical fee; the same happened with Fabregas too. Call it a prophecy if you like, but I can see the same happening with Gabriel.

Although Man United may be powerless to keep their player at the club, there will be no doubt many cases of youngsters like JJ Gabriel. If the past is anythung to go by, they will proably pay over the odds to bring him back, when he was already on their books.