Manchester United

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Manchester United boss Michael Carrick, spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live after his side's Carabao Cup defeat: "It seems a long time ago now but the start of the game was fantastic. It was everything we hoped for, even more really, in some ways in Shea [Lacey] getting his goal. The night's gone in a different direction but I think for Shea for the moment in the academy and everyone who's been connected with his journey, to have a moment like which he should be celebrating and enjoying a little bit more really to have that start of the game.

"Then we let the game get away from us with the longer the game went. We ended up with a pretty disappointing night. It's obvious for me to say that. We accept that. We can't be in a position like that and lose the game in that manner. I'll understand the disappointments and frustrations. I accept that. That's on me. It'll need to be better than that."

"We can't change that. It's done. We've got to keep evolving as a group. We have to keep learning and dealing with situations. Sometimes they come a bit easier than others. Tonight was a tough one. We didn't find a way out of it. That's up to me and the staff to help the players and guide them through it. I think we all know that in the end tonight feels like a big disappointment.

"We've had small, little things that have gone against us in the last week or two and then it accumulates to feel that it's a lot bigger. I think we have to be honest and say that. The late goal against Everton from outside the box. The Manchester City goal the other day. It can all of a sudden roll into something a bit greater but I understand the disappointment because we shouldn't finish the game in that manner with the position we were in and we have to be humble and take that.

"We have to find the answers for Sunday."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Man Utd's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Thursday for a selection of your replies.

There are four Carabao Cup third-round ties on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Fleetwood Town v Sheffield United

• Coventry City v Aston Villa (20:00)

• Manchester United v Brighton (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-offs 19:45 BST unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

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Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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In the past 24 hours there has been a backlash against JJ Gabriel and his family, for the direction he is taking and around his professionalism and attitude.

Sources close to the player believe this is unfair and overlooks the dedication and commitment that mean he is so well-regarded by so many clubs.

Sources feel that, in meetings with the United hierarchy that led to Gabriel committing his short-term future to the club last summer, promises were made over his career path that have not been kept.

He did start to appear in senior training sessions, initially under Ruben Amorim and then Michael Carrick, but speculation around a senior debut begun last season.

It then had been anticipated that Gabriel would feature during United's pre-season programme.

His absence from the trip to Helsinki to face Wrexham on 18 July was put down to the date he returned for pre-season training. He was part of every squad after that, but played only once, for eight minutes against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm.

Did that lack of action sow the seeds of discontent? Gabriel travelled to Trondheim for the Rosenborg friendly on 24 July and Carrick used 11 substitutes that day, but Gabriel was one of two who did not come on.

It was noted that 18-year-old Tynan Thompson was given a 45-minute senior debut against Leeds at Croke Park - another game Gabriel travelled to but was not involved in - three weeks after his arrival from Tottenham.

Nevertheless, it was felt Gabriel was likely to become United's youngest player this autumn - probably in the Carabao Cup.

While the third-round draw delivered an Old Trafford tie against Brighton, United's Champions League schedule opened up another avenue.

It is conceivable that Azerbaijani champions Sabah could be the least difficult home game United have this season. They were 3-0 up at half-time and Carrick had used all five substitutes by the 72th minute.

But Gabriel was not among them. As with Max Dowman at Arsenal last season, Uefa's registration rules meant that, because he was 15, Gabriel could only feature if he was named on United's A list of players.

United coaches have previously suggested Gabriel is not yet at the physical level required to be a senior player. Sources close to the player reject this.

They also cite Sir Matt Busby saying "if you are good enough, you are old enough" They see how Arsenal gave Dowman his chance at 15 and Bayern Munich gave Lennart Karl his debut at 17 - and wonder why United have not done the same with Gabriel.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Amid all the JJ Gabriel news, it shouldn't be overlooked that three of Manchester United's other young players have had some good news.

Goalkeepers Will Murdock and Fred Heath have signed contracts. It is Murdock's second and Heath's first.

In addition, Dante Plunkett has signed his first professional deal.

Plunkett has had a tough time with injuries and was limited to just 13 appearances across all competitions last season. He is still to feature in this one after having surgery last month, which will rule him out until towards the end of 2026.

However, the 18-year-old - a last-minute substitute in the FA Youth Cup final defeat by Manchester City in May - is clearly highly rated at United.

In addition, Plunkett has also obtained Jamaican citizenship, which will allow him to pursue international honours with them.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Manchester United officials were at the final consultation event for the Old Trafford masterplan that was held in Stretford on Tuesday night.

Organisers estimate over 150 local residents attended the four events, with a further 250 at the initial unveiling at Old Trafford in July and the response is said to have been one of excitement.

Every premises in the Gorse Hill and Trafford Park West area has been contacted.

The actual consultation period doesn't finish until 22 September, when Trafford Council will assess the responses and whatever changes are needed.

While it is not anticipated formal planning permission will be submitted until late 2027 or early 2028, there are stages to go through, with the Mayoral Development Corporation - the body led by Lord Coe that oversees the project - next due to meet in November.

Meanwhile, it is anticipated United will be offering fans an opportunity to have their say, after which final plans for their planned 100,000-capacity stadium will be confirmed and costings, both in terms of the build and how it will be paid for, will need to be finalised.

United are working towards their new stadium being operational in time for the 2035 Women's World Cup.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Michael Carrick really needs a good end to this week.

The extended first international break of the new season means after Manchester United's trip to Fulham on Sunday, there will be a three-week gap to the home match with Tottenham on 10 October.

That is a long time for analysis around what has gone wrong for United and Carrick so far.

A place in the Carabao Cup fourth round – to be played at the end of October – and a victory at Craven Cottage, would take some of the edge away from the current debate. If results go badly, it will feel as though United are in full blown crisis mode barely a month into a new campaign for the third successive year.

Brighton did knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup on their last visit to Old Trafford in January. However, United's 3-0 win at the Amex on the final day was one of the best performances under Carrick, who took charge immediately after the FA Cup tie.

Concern persists that summer recruitment was not extensive enough, and it will be interesting to see what changes the United boss makes for Wednesday evening's tie.

"It's important for us to win football matches, and it's important that we manage the squad as well, to keep everyone up to speed, keep everyone ready and keep everyone part of it," he said before the match.

"But we're certainly going into Wednesday trying to win the game."

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Had the situation worked out differently, 15-year-old JJ Gabriel would have been preparing for his Manchester United debut tonight and potentially becoming the club's youngest player.

Instead, the young forward is in limbo, having asked United for his registration to be cancelled, which would allow him to join one of the many clubs across Europe who are very keen to sign him.

The crux of the issue goes back to what he feels were promises that have been made around a pathway to the first team, specifically in pre-season, that weren't honoured – Gabriel was part of four squads but only featured for eight minutes. He travelled to Norway for the meeting with Rosenborg on 24 July but didn't get on, even though head coach Michael Carrick made 11 substitutions - including five players who have since left the club, either on loan or permanently.

Then Gabriel was not registered for the Champions League encounter with Sabah FK last week. He would have needed to have been on Uefa's A list of players, but was omitted, even though Manuel Ugarte – who is injured and won't be available until after the league phase when players can be re-registered - and 18-year-old new arrival Tynan Thompson, were named.

So, while United sources are adamant it was intended Gabriel would have been involved against Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, sources close to him had no confidence he would actually get on the pitch.

United say they feel the situation can be rectified, and chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are involved. They also say they will not release Gabriel from his registration, which runs to the end of the season.

It will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds.

Umir Irfan
Football tactics correspondent

Manchester United have a problem: the more possession they have of the football, the less likely they are to win.

Under Michael Carrick, they have averaged 1.5 points-per-game when they have had more than 50% possession.

When they have had less than 50% possession, that figure shoots up to 2.6 points-per-game.

So why is this? I've explained why Manchester United have become less likely to win when they have more of the ball below...

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We asked for your views on the news that JJ Gabriel could leave Manchester United:

Here are some of your comments:

Christine: This needs sorting out quickly. You do not let generational talents leave. This is not the celebrated youth academy policy that was simply the best. Whatever it is, deal with it.

Royston: No surprises that other clubs are tapping him up but I sense there's foul play. It will be a massive loss to United should he leave. The club hierarchy should do everything within its power to hang on to him. That's a £150m player in the making, should he grow into his full potential.

Ryan: No player is bigger than the club. If they think they are, they know where the door is.

Jacob: The fact it's making news shows just how talented this young lad is. It's clear somebody somewhere has been whispering in his ear. Sure, the club has been a mess, but we are on the up with some very talented young players coming through. The grass isn't always greener. He won't get much exposure in any other first team at a top club. He definitely needs to stay and the club need to figure out why he wants to leave and offer him better.

Daniel: You've got a 15-year-old kid being fast-tracked into being around the first team of a Champions League-level club and it's not enough apparently. It's a massive red flag. You just hope that the people around the lad are not just looking at him with pound signs in their eyes. He wouldn't be the first or last young talent to not make it due to bad advice.

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And here are some of your views on the club's midfield rebuild after BBC Sport's pundits debated it on Monday Night Club:

David: I agree on an underwhelming transfer window. Don't mind Tielemans. Santos, I think, was a waste of money. I'd rather have bought a full-back. As for Baleba, a friend of mine who is a Brighton fan says if he plays to his ability, we will love him but there is a 'but' as he can make mistakes on the edge of his own penalty area. For me, I'd give the window a 6 out of 10 but if Baleba comes good will rise to a 7.5.

Christine: There is nothing wrong with the summer signings. All of them are quality players. The issue isn't the quality of the player, it's Carrick insisting on playing Tielemans and Mainoo together and then, when that's not working, putting Fernandes in the midfield role, and we all know he can't play in that position. Ineos has brought in Santos, who played brilliantly in pre-season, and now he can not get a kick of the ball and he is a far better player in that number six role than Fernandes. Carrick needs to understand Manchester United are not a mid-table Championship club like Middlesbrough, where if you lose there's always the next game. Do not be under any illusion that the issues are not the summer signings, it's much deeper than that. The manager is simply not good enough. He shows no passion and his understanding of the game is poor. There should be a bomb squad. Some players, you know who they are, should be nowhere near Manchester United and that is the issue.

Lea: It's not so much that it's underwhelming, it's more that the likes of Wilcox and Berrada seem to think that Luke Shaw didn't need help at left back and that Sesko didn't need a backup strike partner. Plus, the fact that they were lazy enough to sign a player they scouted last year, instead of new prospects.

Manchester United have their sights on 24-year-old Everton and England defender Jarrad Branthwaite again, after his return to action following injury problems. (Football Insider, external)

Real Madrid striker Endrick could be available in the January transfer window, with Manchester United among those interested in the Brazilian 20-year-old. (AS via Teamtalk, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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For a start, the idea of winning the major youth prizes with the Old Trafford outfit appealed to JJ Gabriel. In addition, a pathway towards the first team was outlined, starting with appearances in senior training sessions, initially under Ruben Amorim and then Michael Carrick.

There was speculation around a first-team debut last season, which could only be in the FA Cup as Gabriel was not old enough to feature in the Premier League.

Darren Fletcher, Gabriel's coach for the under-18 team, and who decided to use the youngster centrally rather than in his favoured wide role, believing he would find more space to use his natural ability, was in interim charge for the third-round tie with Brighton in January 2026 but decided it was too early to play Gabriel.

• Read more on Gabriel's possible exit

Manchester United's defeat meant there was no further opportunity for Gabriel in a senior match.

Nevertheless, as he was now a regular presence at training, it was anticipated Gabriel would feature during United's pre-season programme.

His absence from the initial trip to Helsinki for a meeting with Wrexham on 18 July was put down to the date he returned for pre-season training. He was part of four squads out of five after that, but played only once, for eight minutes against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on 1 August.

Gabriel had a couple of trademark runs and shots but, as he was taking virtually his first touch, he was also clattered by Uruguay skipper Jose Maria Gimenez. The force of the challenge from behind sent Gabriel sprawling and was a reminder why some at United felt the youngster was not yet physically strong enough to play at senior level.

Did that relative lack of action sow the seeds of discontent? Not only did some of Gabriel's long-standing academy team-mates get more exposure in pre-season, but another attacking player, 18-year-old Tynan Thompson, was given a 45-minute senior debut against Leeds at Croke Park, three weeks after his arrival from Tottenham.

It was still felt Gabriel was likely to become United's youngest ever player this autumn and probably in the EFL Cup.

However, while the third-round draw delivered an Old Trafford rematch with Brighton, United's Champions League schedule opened up another avenue.

It is conceivable Azerbaijan champions Sabah FK could be the least difficult home game Carrick's side have this season.

United were 3-0 up at half-time and Carrick used all five substitutes by 72 minutes.

But Gabriel wasn't among them. As with Max Dowman at Arsenal last season, Uefa's registration rules meant as he was only 15, Gabriel could only feature if he was named on United's A list of players.

It is not entirely clear why it didn't happen. United did submit a maximum 25-man squad to Uefa, but among them was midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who will not play until after the registration window opens again in January because of his knee injury. Thompson was also in.

Was it an oversight? Did United think it would be better for Thompson to be included given Gabriel can be registered on the B list next month when he is 16?

Either way, the chance of a debut in that game and a place in United's history books as the club's youngest player - a status currently held by goalkeeper David Gaskell, who was 16 years and 19 days old when he played for the first time in 1956 - was lost.

Brighton was the next opportunity. United sources are adamant it was going to happen. Now it will not.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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Referees' chief Howard Webb has admitted that the video assistant referee (VAR) did not even consider whether Enzo Fernandez was offside for Erling Haaland's controversial winner in Sunday's Manchester derby.

Speaking on the first edition of 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' of the season, Webb said he was "really disappointed" with the error made by the VAR Matt Donohue and his assistant Blake Antrobus.

Manchester City striker Haaland thought he had scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford in the 60th minute, but it was disallowed on the field for offside.

A VAR review found Haaland was just onside, and the goal was awarded.

But it immediately became apparent that the video officials had made an error in failing to identify an offside offence by Fernandez, diving at the ball in a central position and interfering with opponents.

"I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are," said Webb, Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref's chief refereeing officer.

"None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.

"They'll not be officiating again until after the international break."

One of the questions which many supporters have asked is how the VAR team could possibly reach the conclusion that Fernandez did not commit an offside offence.

The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland," said Webb, who had already been in contact with Manchester United to share the VAR audio and video.

"He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal.

"He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score.

Read more on the controversial decisions in Sunday's Manchester Derby

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Manchester United sources say they are not sure what has led to the situation of JJ Gabriel - who is on the verge of leaving the club - developing the way it has.

The 15-year-old striker has sent a formal notice saying he wants to cancel his registration with immediate effect. United can challenge the request.

It is understood Gabriel did not train with Michael Carrick's squad at the end of last week amid issues in the relationship between the player's family and the club.

United have not yet given up hope of resolving the situation, given Gabriel has a contract that runs to the end of the season. Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are directly involved in discussions with the player's family, which underlines how seriously the club regard the situation.

Even though he was only 14 when the 2025-26 season began, Gabriel won the Premier League Under-18 player of the year award, in addition to being named United's Under-18 player of the year.

He made his senior debut for United in their pre-season game against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm last month, scored a hat-trick on his Uefa Youth League debut last week and had been expected to make his competitive bow in Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Brighton.

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