In his first senior call-up to the Argentina squad, Manchester United hopeful Alejandro Garnacho exercises alongside superstar countrymen Lionel Messi.

At the age of 17, Garnacho has yet to make his United debut, instead playing for the club's youth teams. He's been predicted for greatness, and Argentina is desperate to secure his loyalty ahead of Spain.

Since Lionel Scaloni promoted him to the senior team earlier this month after he had previously represented Spain at the youth level, the winger was born and raised in Madrid. To make the most of Argentina's already-secured World Cup berth in Qatar, manager Juan Carlos Osorio intends to rotate his squad against Venezuela on Friday and Ecuador the following Wednesday.

Having the opportunity to study from Messi, who leads Argentina's national team, has been termed as a "dream" by Garnacho. When the adolescent posted a picture of himself next to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner on Instagram on Wednesday, he wrote: "In reality, dreams can come true. Idol..." PSG striker Kylian Mbappe is widely considered to be the best footballer of all time, and Garnacho confirmed his belief by uploading the goat emoji alongside a heart and a crown to his Instagram caption.

This appears to imply that the child prefers his countryman to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has long been seen as Messi's fiercest opponent at the peak of European football. If at all possible, Garnacho hopes to play alongside Messi during the international break so that he can absorb as much knowledge as possible from a new group of colleagues. To play in the same squad with stars of that caliber has always been a dream of mine, he told Manchester United's official website.

"And I'm going to learn plenty from them, grasp the opportunity and progress as a player. This [call-up] will have people talking about me but I'm still young and it's the beginning of my career and I'm just focused on playing football and on growing."

Garnacho also sent his thanks to the academy teachers who have assisted his growth this season, helping him score 11 goals and net six assists in 28 outings in all competitions. The teenager will hope the momentum of his first senior international call-up helps catapult him into the first-team spotlight at Old Trafford.