Monaco forward Anthony Martial has been given permission by France coach Didier Deschamps "to travel to England to sign a contract with Manchester United", the French Football Federation has announced.
Monday's news comes amid reports in France that the English Premier League club is willing to pay a huge fee of anywhere between 50 million and 80 million euros (£36.5m to £58m) to sign the teenager.
That would represent a remarkable sum for a player who cost Monaco around five million euros from Lyon in the summer of 2013, and OL president Jean-Michel Aulas said his club stands to make around 10 million euros as part of a sell-on clause agreed when that transfer went through.
The 19-year-old striker was given a full international call-up for the first time by Deschamps for France's friendly games against Portugal in Lisbon on Friday and Serbia in Bordeaux on Monday.
A statement on the French Football Federation website read: "Anthony Martial requested permission from Didier Deschamps to travel to England to sign a contract with Manchester United.
"Given the exceptional circumstances, the coach has agreed to the request of the player."
Martial is due to return to the French training base at Clairefontaine, south of Paris, on Tuesday morning, by which time he could be a United player.
Should the transfer fee be as high as has been suggested, the deal could rival the 75 million euros Real Madrid paid Juventus for Martial's fellow Frenchman Zinedine Zidane back in 2001, although by then the midfield icon had already won both the World Cup and the European Championship.
Deschamps conceded the sums being spent on sometimes unproven players were, in the public's eyes, totally out of proportion, but added that such investments could be worthwhile in the long term.
"Transfers are not gambles, they are investments," said Deschamps, who coached Monaco to the 2004 Champions League final.
"When Monaco bought Martial for five million euros everyone asked why.
"And now he is worth how much? Clubs, managers, coaches see a player, think that he has potential and the ability to progress that will increase his value. In the eyes of public opinion, these are very high sums of money."
AFP