Aston Villa: Emiliano Buendia World Cup hopes could still be alive
Aston Villa forward Emiliano Buendia could possibly still be a part of Lionel Scaloni's Argentina World Cup squad.
The 29-year-old enjoyed a magnificent season with the Villans, scoring 11 goals and providing nine assists in all competitions and capping it off with a Europa League trophy.
It was surprising to see the forward miss out from la Albiceleste's initial 26-man squad for the summer tournament, but he was told to postpone his vacations to be ready for a last-minute call-up.
Buendia seemed like an obvious replacement for Como playmaker Nico Paz, who was a fitness concern, but Lionel Scaloni has revealed that the 21-year-old is now available.
Despite the youngster being declared fit for the upcoming tournament, the Lions' attacker still has a chance of realising his dream in the coming days.
Emi Buendia to wait for Lionel Scaloni phone call
Scaloni saw his Argentina side beat Honduras 2-0 in a friendly on 7 June, with goals from Lautaro Martinez and Giuliano Simeone.
In the World Cup-winning manager's post-match press conference, he talked about the possibility of making a few changes to his squad before the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA commences.
Besides Leonardo Balerdi, several other players have been declared unfit, with not much time to go before the start of the World Cup.
Buendia is one of the players possibly in contention to make the Argentine squad, but it remains to be seen what Scaloni decides after another friendly against Iceland on 10 June.
Speaking to the media, the 48-year-old head coach said, "We're not at 100 per cent with all of our players. It might not be just a centre-back that we need to add.
"The replacement hasn't been decided yet. There's no need for alarm, but several players still aren't fully fit.
"We have another game to assess the situation and gather more information, so we're not going to rush any decisions."
Aston Villa have obvious Emi Buendia priority
Sources told Football Insider in May that Villa are poised to keep Youri Tielemans in the summer despite growing interest in him.
Another key player the Lions should be desperate to hold on to is Buendia, who seemed on his way out last summer amid speculation about his future.
The Villans face a slight dilemma regarding the Argentine forward as his current contract is about to enter its final year.
While Unai Emery surely wouldn't want to lose Buendia, the Villa Park hierarchy may be forced to sell the attacker soon to avoid him leaving as a free agent.