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There has been an update on the chances of JJ Gabriel staying at Manchester United after Fabrizio Romano suggested an exit was almost inevitable.
16-year-old Gabriel recently informed Man Utd of his decision to leave the Premier League giants to continue his development elsewhere.
This came as a shock, and it is also a potential blow for Man Utd because the talented teenager has long been earmarked as a possible future star of world football.
One of several reasons for Gabriel pursuing an exit is that he is attracting interest from several European giants, and we have reported that Real Madrid are ramping up their efforts to sign him ahead of FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Man Utd have still been trying to make Gabriel change his mind about leaving, but their chances of keeping him have looked increasingly slim in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, respected reporter Romano said that the Red Devils now only have a “5%” chance of keeping Gabriel.
Romano said this week: “[There is a] ninety-five per cent chance for Gabriel to go.
“Probably to La Liga, as I always told you since September.”
Now, though, a report from Football Insider claims Man Utd have a slightly better chance of keeping Gabriel than Romano suggested.
The outlet claims there is a “30%” chance of Gabriel staying, with former Everton CEO Keith Wyness, who acted as a source for the publication, insisting it is in Real Madrid’s “favour”.
Wyness told Football Insider: “I think it’s about a 30 per cent chance of him staying put and 70 per cent going to Real Madrid. I think it’s that far in their favour.
“I think too much has been said and too much has gone under the bridge. Man United either didn’t act appropriately; probably last year was the time to do it. They obviously haven’t made the window for his success, his match plan and his pathway very clear to him.
“Or at least if they have, and it’s not been satisfactory for the father. Now we know it’s difficult, and we discussed before that parents can be very, very hard.
“I’ve had very bad experiences with pushy parents who think they know everything, but they don’t really because they haven’t had the experience of handling it.
“I’ve had countless young players come through, and I’ve seen each of them develop in different ways. United are now talking about going legal. I mean, that’s ridiculous, and I think it would be the wrong way to go.”