I want to nurture Gabriel's freedom and creativity, not ruin it - Lawrence

[Getty Images] Manchester United Under-21 coach Adam Lawrence has no intention of curbing JJ Gabriel's natural attacking flair. The 15-year-old is one of the most talked about players in academy football just now. After scoring a memorable goal in each of his first two outings in Premier League 2, he marked his Uefa Youth League debut at Leigh on Thursday by becoming the youngest United player to score a hat-trick in the competition. Remarkably, if he had remained with United's under-18 side, he would still be their youngest player, and he doesn't turn 16 until next month. Lawrence knows he is working with a rare talent and the aim is to maximise the skills Gabriel has. "The first thing in my job is not to ruin him," said Lawrence. "When you have a talented player like JJ, you don't want to stifle their freedom and creativity. "Essentially what you try to do is set the team up to allow the talent to function and play free at the right moments. Of course, it can't always be free and off-the-cuff in terms of some of the off-the-ball responsibilities he's working on and the pressing things he's thinking about. "But in terms of how he plays properly and how he connects with other team-mates at the top end of the pitch, he's just in a real good space. He's trying to do the right things. It's enjoyable working with him - and challenging as a coach because the best players challenge you. "With talented players, you have to find a way to help them and allow them to flourish and keep improving." Despite his age, Gabriel was named Premier League Under-18 player of the year last season. He was also awarded United's under-18 player of the year prize, which in the past has been won by the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo. "He's surrounded by people that really believe in him, from the top of the club right the way through," added Lawrence. "He's got good relationships with the players and staff. That helps as well. "His games programme, training programme and making sure he's getting the right exposure across different levels is definitely something we put a lot of thought into. It's good to see him just enjoying his football."