Manchester United’s post-season tour might have been written off as a waste of time by many but for Chido Obi, it might be the time his career at Old Trafford launched and now there might be another one!
Chido Obi scored twice against Hong Kong to help Man Utd come from behind and avoid another embarrassing defeat on an already infamous trip.
Obi has been scoring for fun in the youth academy but was yet to score for the senior team before this brace, and now more chances could follow next season.
In the meantime, Ruben Amorim must be aware that he might have another Chido Obi-like talent waiting in the wings, yearning for a similar chance.
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd have another Chido Obi in Gabriele Biancheri
14 goals and one assist in 16 games played as a centre-forward vs 16 goals and three assists in 14 games played as a centre-forward.
One of those two players has made his Man Utd debut and is widely believed to have the world at his feet, while the other is waiting for a chance, barely even a U21s regular.
Surprisingly, the more prolific stats of those two belong to Gabriele Biancheri, the Welsh forward in United’s youth ranks who’s making a case to become undeniable with his free-scoring in the academy.
Biancheri scored 24 goals and laid on six assists in 35 games across all competitions in the season just finished, earning a call-up to the Canadian national team.
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Biancheri’s combination of explosiveness and clinical finishing ability makes him a nightmare to deal with at the academy level.
Most importantly, he doesn’t have the “asterisk” that many prolific forwards have at the academy level. Standing at just 5’9″, he doesn’t overwhelm smaller defenders with his physicality like Obi could.
It’s all skill and intelligence with Biancheri.
Biancheri deserves a first-team chance
It is ironic that the biggest endorsement of his ability, i.e., dominating without a physical advantage, might be a hindrance to his senior breakthrough.
At 5’9″, Amorim might feel that Biancheri is not equipped to deal with Premier League’s brutal centre-backs, who have made Rasmus Hojlund feel like a kid at times this season.
However, Biancheri has had to overcome that throughout his career, something which has forced him to expand his game beyond what’s tangible, like height and weight.
His movement in the box is second to none at his level and is a trait that translates across competitive levels, unlike a physical advantage.
Now that Liam Delap has rejected Man Utd, Amorim might be forced to roll the dice on some strikers in the academy, all of whom have impressed to varying degrees.
Biancheri offers something different than everyone with his style of play. He should be given a chance to stake a claim for a place in the squad next season, provided he impresses in pre-season.