Manchester United starlet Gabriele Biancheri has seen his impressive performances for the club’s academy earn the striker a call-up for the Wales’ senior team.
Biancheri, 18, was a key part of recently-departed Adam Lawrence’s “supremely talented” U18 team who won three trophies last year, according to the Manchester Evening News.
And the youngster’s fine form has continued this season for both United’s U18 and U21 sides, scoring 21 goals in total.
Biancheri has even trained with Ruben Amorim’s first-team squad on multiple occasions, though he is still awaiting his debut with the Red Devils.
The 18-year-old has previously played for Wales’ youth teams with manager Craig Bellamy now rewarding the striker with a call-up to the senior squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month.
The Manchester Evening News states, “Wales will hold a training camp to prepare for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium next month. Biancheri will get the chance to impress Bellamy after representing Wales’ youth teams.”
Despite hailing from Cardiff, Biancheri also has Italian heritage with the BBC revealing Gli Azzurri were “keen” to explore whether the striker would consider a switch in representation.
But the Manchester Evening News contends “all signs point towards Biancheri representing Wales on the international stage throughout his career.”
Biancheri joined United from Cardiff City in 2023 following a “recommendation by former Bluebirds academy chief Dave Hughes, now coaching in the Old Trafford youth set-up.”
The BBC describes the 18-year-old as a player “who works hard to defend from the front and with good technical ability, above all Biancheri is described as a natural goal scorer.”
There has even been clamour for Amorim to turn to Biancheri as an option to improve United’s dismal attack.
Tthe senior striking partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee combining for a paltry seven goals in the Premier League this season. Both strikers are linked with a return to Italy as Amorim targets reinforcements to improve his team’s attacking threat.
Hojlund, in particular, is experiencing a dreadful decline in form with last night’s horrendous performance in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea the latest example of why a new striker is an urgent priority for next season.
And while a senior debut at Old Trafford still appears unlikely for Biancheri as the club’s atrocious campaign draws to a close, the youngster will be hoping to continue his first-team ascent ahead of a significant summer of change for the Reds, particularly in the forward line.
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
