Man Utd confirm permanent departure just one hour after he featured in 2026-27 squad list on club's website

Manchester United have confirmed the departure of highly-rated forward Gabriele Biancheri.

Biancheri, who scored regularly for United at youth level after joining the ranks from Cardiff City in February 2023, has agreed to join Austrian second-tier side FC Wacker Innsbruck on a permanent deal.

The 19-year-old will be hoping to make his debut on Saturday, when Sebastian Siller's come up against BW Linz in the second round of the Austrian Cup.

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Gabriel Biancheri was named in Man Utd's squad list for 2026-27 season on club website

On Thursday afternoon, Biancheri was listed as a registered player on United's website as the club announced their Premier League squad list for the 2026-27 campaign.

However, it was confirmed just hours later that the Wales youth international would join FC Wacker Innsbruck.

A statement on the club's website read: "Manchester United academy forward Gabriele Biancheri has agreed to join FC Wacker Innsbruck on a permanent deal, subject to registration."

After mentioning some of his stats, United added: "He now departs for the Austrian 2.Liga outfit with everyone at Manchester United wishing Gabriele all the best with his next stage of his career."

Biancheri was tipped for a bright future at Old Trafford. After ending the 2023-24 campaign with 17 goals in 27 games, he was a regular at both under-18 and under-21 levels in 2024/25, scoring 15 goals in 36 league appearances.

The teenager joined then-League One side Rotherham United on a six-month loan deal in January, where he would go on to make 11 appearances.

Biancheri featured for United in a pre-season friendly against Altrincham but will now embark on a new challenge in Austria after his path into the first-team was 'blocked', according to The Sun.

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Gabriel Biancheri has been compared to Juventus forward Jonathan David

Last year, the 19-year-old was called up by Craig Bellamy to Wales' training camp ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium, but later accepted an invitation to join Canada's training camp.

At the time, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch compared Biancheri to Jonathan David, who is the country's all-time leading scorer.

"He's a version of Jonathan David. He's not exactly the same player but he's a striker that can play up on the backline and is also good at coming underneath and connecting plays and being part of the build-up phase," said Marsch.

"I've had good conversations with Gabe and his family. He has several options to think about in what country he wants to represent. I think it's really important that the family feels the connection to Canada."