Gabriele Biancheri (left) is scoring for fun at youth level (Image: Getty)
Manchester United pulled off a major coup by nabbing Chido Obi-Martin from Arsenal’s academy during the summer – but another young striker may be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Obi-Martin is still 16 for another month but he spent last season playing above his age group, tearing up the Under-18 Premier League with a staggering 32 goals in just 20 games.
Searching for a route into senior football, the young striker opted to leave the Emirates Stadium behind and join United. Obi-Martin made his debut off the bench in an Under-18s win over Sunderland on Saturday, and youth team coaches have high hopes of him quickly working his way through the ranks.
But he is not the only first-team hopeful with a growing reputation. Gabriele Biancheri, 18, is just over a year older than Obi-Martin and already pulling up trees at various youth levels.
The goal-hungry forward is netting every 48 minutes on average after five Under-18 Premier League games. Biancheri has also notched once in a single Premier League 2 outing, and twice more in one UEFA Youth League game.
That brace was scored on Wednesday night, with Biancheri notching either side of half-time to set the Red Devils on their way to a resounding 5-2 win over Lithuanian side Zalgiris.
Gabriele Biancheri is eligible to play for either Wales or Italy at international level (Image: Getty)
With 11 goals in eight games on the whole this campaign, Biancheri is making a strong case to be fast-tracked. Speedy and sharp, the promising prospect spent a decade on the books of Cardiff City – his boyhood club – before United swooped in last year.
Biancheri has chosen to represent Wales at youth level but is also eligible to play for Italy if he wants to make the change before senior opportunities arise. It remains to be seen how long Erik ten Hag waits before phasing the wonderkid into his first-team plans.
Alejandro Garnacho was a year younger than Biancheri when he made his senior bow for United, and the Argentina international is now a vital part of Ten Hag’s attack. That being said, competition for minutes at centre-forward is already high.
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are fighting it out for one spot and, at 21 and 23 respectively, they could in theory be at Old Trafford for years to come. Biancheri will therefore have to keep finding the net to capture Ten Hag’s attention and stay ahead of Obi-Martin in the hunt for a senior call-up.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1966777/man-utd-chido-obi-martin-gabriele-biancheri