Man Utd are interested in a young Norwegian star who broke Erling Haaland’s record to take JJ Gabriel’s place.
Manchester United recently sent scouts to check out one of the most exciting young talents in world football, just days after JJ Gabriel and his team asked to end his registration with the club. It seems JJ Gabriel will be leaving Old Trafford soon, but United are already looking for someone to take his place.
On Sunday afternoon, a scout from Manchester United watched Valerenga’s 1-1 match against Fredrikstad, keeping a close eye on the highly-rated forward Gabriel Rajkovic. Rajkovic, who will turn 16 in February, has had an amazing start to his career. Back in March, he became the youngest player ever to appear in Norway’s top league, the Eliteserien, when he came on as a substitute at just 15 years and 20 days old.
A few months later, Rajkovic almost set another record when he scored against tough opponents Bodo/Glimt at 15 years and 166 days old. That made him the youngest Valerenga player to score in the Eliteserien, and the second-youngest scorer in Norwegian top-flight history, only behind Martin Odegaard. To give you some perspective, Erling Haaland was 17 years and 16 days old when he scored his first goal in the league.
So, what kind of player is Rajkovic? He’s about 1.88m (6ft 2in) tall and very flexible in attack. Mainly a winger, he can play on either side or even as a striker. Like JJ Gabriel, he likes to take the ball, cut inside, and push towards the goal. Even though he’s quite tall for a winger, he would add flair to United’s forward group if he joins. Valerenga’s coach Johannes Moesgaard said, “He is quick. He has a lot of power.”
Valerenga’s head coach Geir Bakke also praised Rajkovic, saying he’s never coached a talent this good at such a young age. Bakke added, “He understands the game well, works very hard on both attack and defense, and has an impressive mindset.”
Manchester United will probably have tough competition for Rajkovic, as top clubs like Barcelona have also sent scouts to watch him this season.