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Barcelona sporting director Deco claims that the La Liga champions don’t want to sign Man Utd forward JJ Gabriel, at least for now.

Reports suggested that the teenager and had respresentatives had flown to Spain for talks with Barca, but speaking at the Portugal Football Summit, Deco distanced the Catalan club from making such a move:

“There’s nothing to say about this boy. It’s normal that players are linked with us. It always happens. There’s a huge market for that with a lot of interests involved, even when [players] are young.”

“But we are not interested in any player in his situation. I’m not sure what’s happening, and if he’s still a Manchester United player. We are not involved in that.”

“First of all, we need to understand how the situation is before we try to do something. To speak about young, teenage players, it is not our business.”

Barcelona have to be careful

Gabriel is contracted to Manchester United, and due to his age, Barca can’t officially make an approach until he turns 16.

While the youngster’s birthday is next month, they can’t be seen to be tapping up a player, and that is probably why Deco has shut down the speculation.

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Could Gabriel end up staying at Man Utd?

There is still a small chance that the player and his family will make a dramatic U-turn, but a lot will depend on how things go over the next few weeks.

October 6th is a crucial date. Gabriel will turn 16, and his Irish passport means clubs in Europe will be able to approach him.

For that reason, Barcelona (and Spanish rivals Real Madrid) are still seen as the forward’s most likely destinations, although other teams on the continent could also register an interest at some point next month.

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