Lautaro Martinez has confirmed he will be moving to Inter Milan in the summer with Borussia Dortmund missing out after a late offer.
The Racing Club forward has scored has 13 goals in 15 games this season and he could make his Argentina debut against Italy on Friday.
Both Inter and Dortmund spotted the 20-year-old's talent relatively early, but Martinez said the Nerazzurri are more appealing and that he now expects to be playing in Serie A next season.
"It's all sorted with the Nerazzurri," he told TyC Sports. "It's all decided -- my future will be in Milan from June. It's going to be a big step for me. When I get back from the national team's training camp, there will be a meeting with my agent and we will sort it all out. Practically all that's missing now is a medical."
Martinez has recently been linked with Dortmund, but he said Inter tried harder than anybody to sign him with their vice president, Javier Zanetti, remaining in regular contact.
"Borussia Dortmund were very interested in me in the past and they came to watch me play ... and also visited me at home," Martinez said. "We spoke, but then they asked for more time.
"We were clear and told them that there were many clubs interested and that we'd already received offers, but they were fine with this situation and I just continued giving my best for Racing. One of the many clubs who approached me and convinced me were Inter.
"The Nerazzurri came to Buenos Aires with the clear intention of buying me. This struck me a lot. But aside from footballing reasons, I chose to go to Inter because Javier Zanetti is there. He showed great interest in me and called me many times."
Inter are reported to have offered up to €25 million for the forward, who is on international duty for the first time and enjoying the experience.
"It's incredible, I'd never met [Lionel] Messi before," he said. "We once played the senior national teams in a practice match with the under-20s, but Messi and [Javier] Mascherano weren't there then. Now I'm just trying to watch and learn from them."