Although the AFA have not yet confirmed it, it appears that Sporting Lisbon full back, Jonathan Silva will be called up to the Argentina squad for the forthcoming friendlies after the dislocated shoulder sustained by Marcos Rojo. Gerardo Martino confirmed the details as he explained that he would not call River Plate’s Leonel Vangioni and instead opt for young Silva.

Jonathan Silva, like Marcos Rojo, is another graduate of Estudiantes and both players eventually left La Plata to move to Sporting Lisbon. In the same summer window that saw Rojo leave Lisbon for Manchester United, Silva arrived. That is not to suggest that the latter is a ready-made replacement for Rojo. While Rojo is more of an outright defender, more than comfortable playing centrally, Silva is far more attack minded and is more in the wing back mould.

With this connection in mind, Rojo is friends with his understudy, Silva and congratulated him on his promotion to Martino’s Argentina squad.

https://twitter.com/marcosrojo5/status/529743626344357888

The experience with the national side will be an invaluable experience for the 20-year-old even if he does not get an appearance in either friendly against Croatia or Portugal.

It is good to see Martino looking at some of the younger players as Sabella’s World Cup Squad had the highest average age at the tournament. There are several talented young players available and these friendlies will be a good opportunity to take a closer look at some of these players.