Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick said the club will be careful with 15-year-old youngster JJ Gabriel’s future. The youngster recently made a request to leave the club, and the news spread like wildfire.

After Gabriel scored a hat-trick for the Under-19s on his UEFA Youth League debut last Thursday, he was expected to be included in the senior squad for the first time in a competitive match on Wednesday.

But Gabriel was not included in the squad for the third round of the Carabao Cup. United eventually suffered a 3-2 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion despite leading by 2-0 at one stage. On the eve of that game, it was reported that the teenager’s camp had made a request for him to leave the Old Trafford club.

Asked about the situation surrounding the 15-year-old after the third-round loss, boss Carrick said: “I just think we’ve got to be really careful of the whole situation.

“He’s a young boy, he’s 15 and the biggest [thing] for me definitely and as a club point of view is looking after our younger players. Their welfare, their wellbeing, their exposure.

“And I think all of us we’ve got to be really conscious of that, really, in this situation.

“As a club, for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.”

According to ESPN, Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the clubs monitoring Gabriel’s standoff with Manchester United. Gabriel is eligible to sign scholarship forms after his 16th birthday, which is on Oct. 6.

United will next face Fulham on Sunday in the Premier League.