Giggs has likened Manchester United teenager Gabriel to Wayne Rooney, describing the 15-year-old as a "generational talent" and urging him to remain patient in his pursuit of a first-team breakthrough.
Gabriel, who does not turn 16 until 6 October, has already trained with the senior squad and made a brief pre-season appearance against Atletico Madrid. He has been starring for the club's Under-21 side and there is growing expectation that manager Michael Carrick could hand him a competitive debut in the Carabao Cup against Brighton next week.
If selected, Gabriel would become United's youngest ever debutant, surpassing the record held by goalkeeper David Gaskell, who was 16 years and 19 days old when he first appeared for the club.
Giggs, who made his own United debut at 17 after first training with the senior squad at 15, discussed Gabriel's prospects with former teammate Rio Ferdinand on the latter's YouTube channel.
Ferdinand described watching Gabriel in a small-sided training game during the club's summer tour in Dublin and was struck by the teenager's composure against senior professionals.
"Off both feet, he's ridiculous — getting a yard and bang," Ferdinand said. "So small and slight but doesn't allow people contact. He did a shooting drill... imagine being 15 on the training pitch with the PFA Player of the Year, captain of your club, best player at your club (Bruno Fernandes) — and you and him are the focal point of a shooting drill in front of everybody. And he's looking comfortable and unfazed."
Giggs immediately drew a parallel with Rooney, who joined United as an 18-year-old in 2004 and made an instant impact.
"That sounds like Wayne, doesn't it?" Giggs said. "Just give me the ball, give me the ball, I don't care who I'm training with."
The Welshman then offered Gabriel advice on managing the transition from academy to senior football, stressing the importance of playing time even if that means dropping back to youth level occasionally.
"You need to play games and it's difficult because if you're in squads for the first team you're not going to turn that down, but also you need minutes on the pitch," Giggs explained. "A couple of times I went up to the first team and then went back to the youth team — and it's about how you react to that."
Giggs believes Gabriel is in the right environment to develop, pointing to the club's history of nurturing young players and the presence of former United players such as Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Jonny Evans in the coaching setup.
"It's sort of a generational talent, so there's no point going out on loan because he's at the best place," Giggs said. "He'll be dipping in and out of the first team so that experience is invaluable — not only the games and the training, but also travelling with the team and managing the expectation of United."