After struggling to sell established first-team stars during the summer transfer window, Manchester United instead turned to offloading academy graduates.
The likes of Zidane Iqbal, Charlie Savage, Matej Kovar, Anthony Elanga, and Marc Jurado were just a few who departed permanently.
However, it is not like manager Erik ten Hag is against young players as can be seen from the breakthroughs of Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
United’s youth policy paying dividends
Things have kept improving at academy-level after a few lull years and things are once again looking up as the club boasts of several highly talented starlets.
Hannibal Mejbri came on during the Brighton game and got his first senior goal for the club and even behind the scenes, the club is working on keeping the supply chain working.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano tweeted that highly-rated academy star Gabriele Biancheri has penned his first professional contract with Manchester United.
The Welsh wizard penned the deal on his 17th birthday and he is already showing signs of why he is so highly regarded back home.
“Very proud moment for me & my family signing my first professional contract,”the youngster penned his thoughts on Instagram following the announcement.
Gabriele Biancheri has penned his first professional contract with Manchester United 🔴🏴 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/J8k9yPZ8h2
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 18, 2023
Comparisons with Gareth Bale have already emerged and this contract is another step in the right direction for the highly-regarded starlet.
Biancheri has already been promoted to play for United’s Under-18s this season and even managed to get on the scoresheet during the 4-1 victory over Stoke City’s U18s in August.
The former Cardiff City product caught the attention of teams from all over England after he registered 17 goals and five assists in 11 games for the Cardiff U16 team in his very first season.
His displays for United’s age-group team has shown he has the pace, skill, and intelligence to play multiple roles across the frontlines, an asset highly regarded by Ten Hag.
Gabriele Biancheri signs professional contract
He was soon promoted to play for the Cardiff U21 team at the tender age of 16 and United had to fend off interest from the likes of Chelsea, and Arsenal to acquire Biancheri in January of this year.
The then-16-year-old arrived on a four-year deal and is already a Wales U17 international and he already has two goals for them.
United had announced that the Wales U17 international was part of their list of new scholarship deals ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and the club have rewarded Biancheri for his remarkable growth.
This shows the club’s supply chain is once again back to normal and his precocious talents could soon be recognised by the first-team manager if he keeps his head down and keeps up this momentum.