Monaco's Anthony Martial has been granted permission to travel to England to sign for Manchester United, according to a statement from the France Football Federation.
Martial, 19, has been linked with a £36 million move to United and it now appears that the young forward will complete it before the end of the transfer deadline after the two clubs reportedly agreed a fee.
Indeed, United made their move to sign Martial after Monaco were eliminated from the Champions League by Valencia in a playoff last week.
A statement read: "Anthony Martial was presented Monday at 11.00 at the gathering of the France team at Clairefontaine. He requested from Didier Deschamps permission to travel to England to sign a contract with Manchester United.
"Given the exceptional circumstances, the coach has acceded to the request of the player. Anthony Martial left Clairefontaine Monday at 12:00. He will return on Tuesday morning."
If the deal reaches the reported £36m, it would make the Frenchman United's biggest buy of the summer and their third most expensive ever, after Angel Di Maria and Juan Mata. He would also become the most expensive teenager ever in world football.
Martial, who began his career at Lyon, has scored 13 goals in 60 games for Monaco but has been compared to Thierry Henry.
United have parted company with forwards Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao over the summer while there are doubts over the futures of Javier Hernandez and Adnan Januzaj, who Van Gaal had described as two of his five striking options this season.
Captain Wayne Rooney is Van Gaal's first-choice forward but, although he scored a Champions League hat trick against Club Brugge, is yet to find the net in the Premier League and could soon face competition from Martial for his place.
ESPN FC correspondent Richard Jolly contributed to this report