Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel, who has the nickname 'Kid Messi', scored a hat-trick for the academy on Tuesday night.

United remain at the forefront of youth development and JJ Gabriel, who only recently celebrated his 14th birthday, is thought to be one of the finest prospects the academy has seen.

He was given the nickname 'Kid Messi' after clips of him training and completing specialist skills went viral when he was younger and there is excitement building about his potential.

Gabriel scored three goals in an academy game against Blackburn at Carrington on Tuesday and his finishing has been described as 'unbelievable' by someone from United's youth system.

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Gabriel was invited to spend time around the Under-18s when they played Manchester City in the Premier League Cup final last season and he was involved in the warm-up.

He was just 13 years old when he was given that opportunity and is now becoming increasingly involved with the U18 group in training so he can be challenged against older players.

When an academy player shows significant potential and isn't being challenged by playing in their age group, they are moved into an older bracket to help their development.

Gabriel has been pushed into the U18s to train and is currently excelling playing Under-16s games, which suggests an U18 appearance could come by the end of the season.

The youngster has made a superb start to the 2024/25 campaign and he was part of the academy team that won the U16 Premier League National Shield at the weekend.

Gabriel also won the Most Valuable Player award at a U16 tournament in Hong Kong two months ago, which was presented to him by former United player Dimitar Berbatov.