West Ham United striker Valentin Castellanos could yet form part of Argentina’s World Cup squad, it seems.

Castellanos has scored five goals in 16 games since joining West Ham United from Lazio in January – two of which came during their crucial win over Wolves on Friday night.

While Taty does not always convince, there’s little doubt that he has made a significant impact since his arrival.

Where can Taty Castellanos IMPROVE?

Are you losing faith in him?

It’s annoying that Diouf set up that goal for Taty at Burnley and we’ve never seen that combination again since

To be fair taty and Pablo haven’t had great service! I’ve been very disappointed that wan bissaka and diouf don’t attack the bye lines and get more crosses into the box

The forward has two caps for his country at senior level, the last of which came back in November 2024.

Lionel Scaloni – a former Hammer himself – is keeping a close eye on the forward, it seems.

Castellanos on Argentina’s radar ahead of the World Cup

Indeed, according to El Editor Mendoza, the 27-year-old is on Scaloni’s radar before he names his squad for the tournament.

Strasbourg forward Joaquin Panichelli suffered an injury late last month and has been ruled out of the showpiece event.

How impressed were you? 🤔

After the wreck that was left by previous managers I believe if we survive taty and the rest will be great going forward

A great result that took some grinding out, Taty & Paplo give us what we have been missing for years, an outlet to allow us to play 4-4-2 instead of all this tippy happy toe shite that has been hoisted upon us. There is no doubt that we are staying up, and next season we will acheive at least a top 10 finish or better

Yeah because we were stuck with Carlton Cole as our number 1 for about 5 years because of no more Ashton .. if he hadn’t got injured he would have scored 15 plus goals every season and we wouldn’t have got relegated with him playing regularly

La Capital, meanwhile, hailed the striker’s performance against Wolves as “extraordinary” and suggest he is still part of the picture when it comes to the national team.

Ole – although this time in an opinion piece – write that the striker “moved to be closer” to the national team.

La Nacion revealed that Scaloni keeps across every Argentinian player plying his trade in the world’s major leagues, where Castellanos plays.

There is clearly no guarantee that the Irons star will make the World Cup squad. Despite injuries, Argentina have so many attacking options.

Still, the mere idea that a player who hasn’t always convinced while clad in claret and blue could line up alongside Lionel Messi at the World Cup is fascinating.

Castellanos might not be the flashiest of players, but he has certainly proven effective. That could come in handy in what promises to be a long and arduous tournament.