Alejandro Garnacho's telling post about JJ Gabriel suggests Man Utd have dodged a bullet

Fifteen is an age usually reserved for stressing over GCSE mocks and applying acne cream. JJ Gabriel, however, operates on a somewhat loftier plane of self-importance.

Manchester United's latest academy messiah has formally requested to leave the club . Gabriel is, by all accounts, a generational talent, but would losing him for nothing really be as catastrophic as it sounds?

On the face of it, the answer is a shuddering yes. Gabriel is an absurdly gifted footballer, a boy who glides through midfield with the kind of precocious, disrespectful ease that makes defenders contemplate early retirement. But behind the highlight reels lies a grimly familiar theatre: whispers of a gargantuan ego and a kid convinced the world owes him a throne before he's even old enough to drive.

Enter Alejandro Garnacho . Never a man to let a piece of self-involved drama pass him by, the former United starlet waded directly into the fray.

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Taking to TikTok - the modern footballer's equivalent of a press conference - Garnacho reposted a video appearing to defend the wantaway United youngster.

It featured screenshots of the reports surrounding Gabriel's exit, adorned with the caption: "JJ Gabriel wanting to leave Man Utd after being called one of the greatest talents itw [in the world]... and he's rumoured to join other big clubs... where have we seen this before?" This was, of course, followed by a montage of some of Garnacho's goals in red.

It was a fascinating, if entirely oblivious, piece of digital solidarity. It's just a re-post, but Garnacho is clearly drawing parallels between himself and Gabriel. Both highly-rated Carrington graduates. Both apparently misunderstood by the rigid, joyless adults in the room. Both destined for bigger and better things, apparently.

But if the Argentinian genuinely sees himself in JJ Gabriel, then Manchester United shouldn't just open the door for the 15-year-old, they should order him an Uber, pack his sandwiches, and wave him off with a big smile.

Let's answer Garnacho's rhetorical question. Where have we seen this before? We saw it last year, when his relationship with Ruben Amorim deteriorated over disciplinary concerns and a failure to meet the manager's tactical demands. Garnacho did little to repair the damage, and United eventually sold him to Chelsea for well below his market value at the time.

And how has that grand pursuit of greener pastures worked out? Not especially well. Garnacho arrived at Chelsea with plenty to prove but made next to no impact - wandering through matches with the gloomy detachment of a teenager dragged along to a garden party. For all the talk of his enormous self-belief, there was precious little evidence of it, with Garnacho producing nothing but a series of low-wattage, utterly forgettable cameos.

Twelve months after taking him off United's hands for a cut-price fee, Chelsea threw up their hands and offloaded the winger at the first whiff of buyer's remorse. Now parked on loan at Aston Villa , Garnacho is discovering that changing his postcode has done little to change his fortunes.