Manchester United recorded their lowest-ever Premier League points total last season but this failure did not extend to the club's industry-leading academy, which enjoyed an outstanding season with the Under-18s winning the FA Youth Cup.
A record-breaking 67,492 fans watched the U18s claim the Youth Cup trophy at Old Trafford in May and the Class of '22 wrote themselves into the history of the academy, alongside other graduates who have since forged impressive careers.
The academy has remained one of the best in Europe despite a tumultuous last decade for the club and the combination of excellent, dedicated coaches and having the foresight to bring talent in from elsewhere has been key in that.
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Alejandro Garnacho contributed seven goals and three assists in the successful Youth Cup campaign last year, but he was born in Madrid, not Manchester, and he actually was signed from Atletico Madrid in September 2020 with a view to the future.
Prior to the signing of Garnacho, the academy also signed Marc Jurado from Barcelona, Alvaro Fernandez from Real Madrid and Isak Hansen-Aaroen in that summer, as the club's scouts looked to bring in some of Europe's best talent.
Those academy signings have been a success, as Jurado, Hansen-Aaroen and Garnacho were all instrumental in the Youth Cup triumph, with the latter becoming a first-team regular, whilst Fernandez is excelling on loan in the Championship.
It's a non-negotiable for the academy to develop talent from Greater Manchester, but it's also important for the club to look beyond that catchment area, which means scouting youth talent from clubs based all around the world.
Garnacho, who has surprised coaches with the rate of his development, is the perfect example of the benefits of that and perhaps Cardiff City striker Gabriele Biancheri will be the next to make his mark when his transfer to United is complete.
The Manchester Evening News revealed last month that United had agreed a deal with Cardiff to sign Biancheri, who is understood to have already passed his medical, and the transfer for him to join the club as a scholar is now imminent.
Biancheri scored 17 goals and notched 10 assists for Cardiff's Under-16s last season and he has the potential to be an exciting addition after being recommended by Cardiff's former academy chief, David Hughes, who joined United last summer.
Jurado, Fernandez and Garnacho were given intensive English lessons and documentaries on the club and Manchester to help them integrate from Spain in the summer of 2020, but Biancheri, who was born in Wales, will not need that support.
Biancheri has played for Wales at youth level and is also eligible to represent England and Italy internationally. He's been described as a 'pacy, sharp and dynamic forward' who can play across the frontline and he only turned 16 in September.
The signing of Biancheri is another example of the academy preparing for the future and that is what gives them an edge. After his arrival is made official, fans will be hoping Biancheri continues to learn and that he'll have a bright future.
United got the signings of Jurado, Fernandez and Garnacho right and staff are hoping Biancheri can follow their lead.
With any luck, the young striker might also get a taste of Youth Cup success in a few years' time.
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