One of Cardiff City’s brightest prospects left the club in February this year, as Gabriele Biancheri left the Bluebirds to sign for Manchester United.
He is not the first prospect to swap Cardiff for Manchester, following in the footsteps of Wales International Rabbi Matondo, who joined Manchester City in 2016 before moving on to Schalke and Rangers.
Gabriele Biancheri was seen as one of the top young players to come through the Cardiff City academy.
Despite what his name would suggest, he is a Welsh youth international, although is also eligible for a call-up from both England and Italy, should he chose to change his allegiance.
The 17-year-old played for Cardiff & Vale Schools FA for a number of years and was leading goalscorer at Under 12, 13 and 14 levels.
He was also Under 14 Player of the Year before earning a scholarship deal with Cardiff.
Biancheri has also earned caps for Wales u17s, but it might not be long before we see Rob Page bed him into the Welsh senior side.
Born in 2006, he spent 9-years with Cardiff City, first signing with the club at the age of 8.
Rising through the ranks at the City Academy, he developed as a top class striker at his age level, while also being effective playing on either wing.
With his ability with two feet and skillful runs, Gabriele Biancheri has drawn comparisons to Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez, so Manchester United will be hoping he can have a similar effect on their team in the years to come.
Biancheri joined United earlier this year, and immediately sent to play with the U16s.
However, it did not take im long to showcase his skills to the coaches, and was called up to the under 18s not long after his 17th Birthday.
In his debut for the club in March 2023, Biancheri made his mark on the team by scoring his first goal for the club, finished well from a tight angle against Leeds United after just coming off the bench.
However, he did injure one of the Leeds players with an unlucky tackle, so a mixed performance for his first match.
In the 2023/2024 season, Gabriele Biancheri has played five matches for the Manchester United u18s, starting as a striker in each one.
According to TransferMarket, Biancheri scored two goals and assisted twice this season for the Under 18s while starting as a striker for Manchester United.
He has only played 90 minutes once, but scored and assisted against Wolves under 18 while playing as a striker.
Biancheri was also chosen to play for Wales at the Under-17 Euros in the summer of 2023. He was not picked as the starting striker, but came on in the opening game of the tournament – a 3-0 loss against the Republic of Ireland.
His performance off the bench impressed the coaches, who handed him a starting spot on the right-hand side for the second game against Hungary.
Despite flashed of brilliance from the young Welshman, it was a similar story as Wales crashed out with a 3-0 loss.
However, Biancheri scored his first goal of the tournament in Wales final game, as they beat Poland 3-0. The diminutive striker opened the scoring on the 81st minute with a fantastic diving header, opening his account for the Wales u17s.
While they crashed out of the tournament in the group stage, it gave the young striker valuable experience at a major youth tournament for his country.
With a place in the Wales u17s and Manchester United u18s seemingly cemented, Gabriele Biancheri certainly seems like one to to watch from the Manchester United academy.
Cardiff City will lament losing him in the future, as Biancheri could be seen on the level of Aaron Ramsey one day in the future.
He even scored a hat-trick in the Premier League Cup for United, including a fantastic solo goal that has drawn comparisons to fellow Manchester United Alejandro Garnacho.
