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Manchester United have promoted wonderkid JJ Gabriel to train with the first team after Ruben Amorim was impressed by his performances. Gabriel is just 14 years old, but has been fast-tracked in the United academy after catching the eye.

The winger committed his future to United earlier in the summer, with the club’s technical director Jason Wilcox playing a role in those discussions. That is unusual for an academy player so young and underlines the excitement surrounding him.

Amorim was informed of his progress earlier in the summer and was shown video clips of Gabriel during United’s pre-season tour of the United States. He has reportedly taken a keen interest in his development and has now met Gabriel for himself.

BBC Sport says Amorim has met Gabriel at Carrington and the youngster watched the opening Premier League match of the season against Arsenal from the directors’ box at Old Trafford on Sunday. He has now been told he will be given the opportunity to train with the first team on occasions this season.

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Amorim has been keen to assess the youngsters coming through the United academy, with many making up the numbers in training. But Gabriel is an exception simply due to his age.

He made his Premier League Under-18 debut by starting Saturday's 1-0 win at Everton, but won’t be able to feature in their FA Youth Cup campaign because he is still too young.

Gabriel has been on the radar of United fans after scoring twice for the Under-18s in a 13-1 hammering of Leeds in April. That match saw him become the youngest ever player to feature for United’s U18s and the team’s manager, Darren Fletcher, is in charge of his development.

“It’s important we let them develop,” Fletcher told club media recently when speaking about the development of players such as Gabriel and Kai Rooney – the 15-year-old son of club legend Wayne Rooney.

“They’ve got loads of development to do, but they’re sponges. They want to learn. They’re young boys who just enjoy football. They take on the information, we’re trying to give them a platform on which to express themselves.

“And we have to recognise their age as well. We don’t want them to grow up too quickly. Let them just develop. It’s difficult when they’re on TV, but that’s part of the game and the modern world.

“We don’t want to hold anybody back. If you’re performing, you’re going to get rewards for it. They’ve played because they deserve it, and they’ve shown they can compete and fight at this level. We believe in a variety of experiences, so it’s important they play at their own age group, and it’s important they get tested [at this level] and they find things tough.”

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