Promising Manchester United Irish player Jay Jay Gabriel (14 years old), nicknamed “Little Messi,” scored his first hat-trick with the under-18 team within 22 minutes on Saturday in a 4-0 victory over Derby County.

The forward, who developed his skills in futsal, opened the scoring in the 5th minute, then added the second in the 14th and the third in the 27th minute. Captain Amir Ibragimov added the fourth from a penalty in the second half.

Jay Jay, son of former Ireland national team star Joe O’Kearil, celebrated the hat-trick amid the joy of his coach Darren Fletcher, a former United star, especially since his striker scored the first goal with his right foot and the second with his left.

Jay Jay raised his tally to 5 goals in 4 matches with the under-18 team, which has a perfect record including a 13-1 win over Leeds where Jay Jay scored two goals.

The promising player wears the number 95 jersey, the highest number in the club’s history, and has a sponsorship contract with Nike. Manchester United fans’ reactions varied between calls to promote him to the first team to save the season, despite FA Cup rules banning participation of such young players, and calls to protect him at all costs. One fan said, “Chelsea took Garnacho from us, but Carrington is preparing another star for us.”

Jay Jay plays alongside Kai Rooney (15 years old), son of club legend Wayne Rooney, but is considered more skilled. The “Little Messi” occasionally trains with the first team under coach Amourim as part of an accelerated development process. The talented player has attracted interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich, but Manchester United aims to keep him and retain him in Manchester city.