For a long while now Argentina have been a little top heavy with an embarrassment of riches in attack and a scarcity of defenders of a similar class. New manager Gerardo Martino still has all of those players available that went to the World Cup Final with Alejandro Sabella but now finds himself with an even deeper pool to draw from with the emergence of some real talents across Europe. With Mauro Icardi, Paulo Dybala, Luciano Vietto and Franco Di Santo all finding themselves on the scoresheet regularly and only a few spaces in the squad, Martino admits that he has some real decisions to make.

Martino told reporters: “We continuously watch Vietto, Dybala, Icardi and Di Santo. It is good that they know that we are following them and that they could be called upon at any moment.”

With two friendlies in March against El Salvador and Ecuador in the United States it could provide Martino a opportunity to take a closer look at one or more of these players, although competition remains fierce. Tata added that “it is a problem that I love to have.”

With his captain and world best player, Lionel Messi taking one slot, Sergio Agüero continuing to terrorise Premier League defences, Gonzalo Higuaín still proving his worth in Italy and Martino already offering Carlos Tevez a route back into the international side, it doesn’t leave much room.

Tevez is the leading scorer in Serie A but behind him are the talents of Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala. Martino has previously criticised Icardi’s celebrity lifestyle but the 22-year-old continues to score goals and has the all the attributes to be a world class number nine. While Dybala is yet to represent the national side, Italy wait in the wings hoping to persuade the 21-year-old Córdoba native to switch allegiance. With this in mind, Martino maybe tempted to give Dybala his first cap, as Sabella did with Icardi in 2013, and therefore tie him down for the long term.

Martino has previously spoken of the fact that he views Tevez as a number nine and therefore he is in direct competition with Agüero and Higuaín. Icardi would certainly be in that group of central strikers but Dybala, who has a little more pace and trickery, could perhaps play a little wider in say a front three.

Like Dybala, Villarreal striker, Luciano Vietto is yet to represent Argentina at senior level but with what has been perhaps the best newcomer performance in La Liga this season, the feeling is that it cannot be far away. His sixteen goals have made him one of the most dangerous attackers in possibly the best league in the world and with his ability to drop deep and his boundless energy to roam across the attack, Vietto does bring a degree of versatility.

The final name on Martino’s shortlist is the rejuvenated Franco Di Santo who has eleven goals in sixteen Bundesliga appearances this season for Werder Bremen. After failing to make a mark in England and Sabella naming him in his initial 30-man World Cup squad at the expense of Carlos Tevez, Di Santo has at times received unfair criticism. However, the 25-year-old centre forward now appears to have added goals to what has always been decent all-round forward play. Recalling Di Santo will probably not excite the supporters in the same way that Vietto or Dybala might but it will come as a boost to the player.

Martino will name his squad for the forthcoming friendlies in the coming weeks and it will be interesting to see if any of these players are rewarded for their fine domestic form. With it being a friendly it is also likely that there will be some call-ups to players who will not go to the Copa América. Martino admitted as much: “Calling up players that were before is difficult because you have to reaffirm concepts, but some from outside and some from local football will surely come, even if not for the Copa América.”