It’s getting harder and harder to ignore Manchester United’s player.

The Under-19 team from Manchester United got off to a great start in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday night, beating FK Zalgiris 5-2 in Lithuania.

The young players were much better than their hosts, making them the first United team to play in the Baltic state. They will have a big lead going into the second game of their second round tie at Leigh Sports Village next month.

Gabriele Biancheri, a talented striker for United, got most of the attention by hitting two goals, which is becoming a common theme when their young players play. Along with him, Ethan Williams (who scored two goals) and James Scanlon also scored.

Biancheri, who turned 18 last month, now has 14 goals for United as a young player this season after scoring his fourth brace of the season. He has scored five goals in the Under-18s Premier League, three goals in the Under-18s Premier League Cup, two goals in the UEFA Youth League, and one goal in the Premier League 2 for the Under-21s.

Besides that, he has scored two goals in his last two games for Wales’ Under-19s, both of which were against Italy. He scores a lot of goals for both his club and his country, so it’s no surprise that the United team is very excited about his future.

The Welsh player, who was signed from Cardiff City in February 2023 and has scored 21 goals in 28 league games for the Under-18s, is hard to miss. It’s getting faster for him to grow, and his results are getting better and better.

His goals against Zalgiris on Wednesday night showed off two of his best skills: his ability to move quickly inside the penalty area and his pinpoint accuracy when finishing. For his first goal, he moved well inside the box to connect with a Jaydan Kamason cross and head it home. For his second, he finished from a tight angle.

Even though he is still very young, the player from Cardiff is already showing a lot of the skills that United want in a youth striker. An exciting buzz is going around the 18-year-old, and it will only get stronger as he scores more goals.

Of course, scoring goals has been the first team’s biggest problem so far this season. As he scores more goals, calls for Biancheri to be moved up to the adults will almost certainly grow. Being careful with the young player’s growth is important for United, though, since he just turned 18 last month.

But there’s no question that United has a player with a lot of potential. He’s hitting goals like crazy—seven in his last five games for both his club and his country.

Because United has so many games this season, Erik ten Hag has been very vocal about the need for turnover. The club is currently in three competitions. In January, the FA Cup third round will add a fourth game.

The United team has only played two of its eight Europa League games so far, so a good run of results in the next few weeks could create a chance for Biancheri and other United youth players in the future.

Ten Hag can name up to 12 substitutes for European games. This means that chances might come up near the end of the club’s league schedule, as long as they are sure of making it to the last sixteen of the tournament.

Whatever time Biancheri makes his first-team debut—after Christmas, near the end of the season, or maybe even later—no one will be able to ignore him.