Real Madrid are confident of winning the race to sign Manchester United forward JJ Gabriel.

The 16-year-old is registered to United, but has not been back to the club since walking out in September.

Gabriel, who played against Atletico Madrid on United’s pre-season tour, had been expected to become the club’s youngest debutant in September’s Carabao Cup tie against Brighton.

However, he has opted to look elsewhere for senior football and has been training on his own in Spain.

His availability alerted clubs around Europe, including Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, but Jose Mourinho’s Real are considered the clear leading contenders for Gabriel’s signature.

Gabriel, who scored a hat-trick on his Uefa Youth League debut, has secured a European Union passport, which is expected to make it easier for him to sign for a club outside England.

United would be due compensation should Gabriel leave, although the figure will be lower if he signs for a club outside the Premier League.

He was named the Premier League’s Under-18 player of the season last term, despite being only 14 when the season campaign.

“The best 15-year-old in Europe,” was how Gabriel was described by a United source this year, while former interim manager Darren Fletcher said: “The world is his oyster.”

Speaking after the EFL Cup defeat by Brighton, United head coach Michael Carrick said: “We’ve got to be really careful of the whole situation.

“He’s a young boy. He’s 15 and, for me definitely, and from a club point of view, looking after our younger players – their welfare, their well-being, their exposure – we’ve got to be really conscious of that in this situation.”