Javier Mascherano, the coach of the Argentina under-20s, is due to fly to England next week for talks with Manchester United in the club-versus-country row about Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho has been called up by Argentina for the Under 20 World Cup, which starts on May 20.
United are reluctant to release Garnacho, who is edging closer to a return from injury, because they do not want to lose the 18-year-old winger for the run-in.
Garnacho would miss at least United’s final two Premier League matches, against Bournemouth and Fulham, and the FA Cup final on June 3 should they overcome Brighton in the semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.
United were eliminated from the Europa League by Sevilla in humiliating fashion in Spain on Thursday night, ending any prospect of involvement in the final in Budapest on May 31.
Mascherano is due to travel to Manchester on Monday, when he is expected to hold talks with United in an effort to secure the release of Garnacho. The former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder also seems likely to meet with other clubs during his visit.
Defeat for United by Brighton may also help Mascherano’s cause but Erik ten Hag is eager to keep hold of Garnacho, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury on March 12 but posted an image of himself back in boots this week.
Garnacho is considered central to Argentina’s hopes at the tournament. Fifa rules state that clubs are “obliged to release their registered players to representative teams of the country for which the player is eligible to play on the basis of his nationality if they are called by the association concerned” and that “any agreement between a player and a club to the contrary is prohibited”.
However, outside of specified international windows these rules are not compulsory, hence United’s resistance.