Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has branded Vinicius Junior "the future" of the capital giants.

Earlier this month, Vinicius revealed that he had asked Zidane for more playing time at the Bernabeu as he looked to build on an impressive debut season at the club.

The 19-year-old scored seven times and registered 13 assists in 36 appearances for Madrid during the 2018-19 campaign having arrived from Flamengo.

The Brazil international has only started once for the capital giants this season, though, despite the team having a number of injury problems in the final third of the field.

The Madrid boss has insisted that Vinicius is an important player for the club, claiming that he will "count on" the teenager this season and indeed in the future.

"I have 23 players and I have to count on everyone," Marca quotes Zidane as saying. "Vinicius is 18 years old and is the future of Madrid, surely. But each player takes time and he is in the process of doing things well.

"Sometimes he will not play, of course, because he will play in others and will be in the starting eleven. Stop saying that I do not count on Vinicius. I do count on him."

Arsenal reportedly failed with an approach for the South American during the summer transfer window.