Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Edson Castillo has a double reason to smile despite his fortunes having taken a downward spiral since the beginning of the year.
Castillo turned 30 on Saturday and just days after has now been included in the provisional Venezuelan squad for the 2014 Copa America.
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The latest call-up to the initial squad of 47 players by Venezuela coach Fernando Batista comes at the back of a less inspiring second half of his first season at Chiefs.
It is this drop that ignited prospects of talk that Castillo is seeking an escape route from Chiefs, where he still has another year plus an option on his contract.
After scoring five goals within his first three months, Castillo has now not scored in 16 games, during which he has found himself starting from the bench and thus putting his international career at risk.
He had squeezed his way back into the La Vinotinto squad after an impressive start at Chiefs, adding three caps to his name but was now at risk of being dropped.
Even his selection into the final squad for the Copa America – to run from June 20 to July 14 in the USA – is not guaranteed based on reports coming out of the South American country.
The Venezuelan media has thrown Castillo’s name out of the selection that they are predicting to be part of the final squad.
This is evidently based on the fact that he is playing in a league of no interest to them and has battled to make the same impact that he made in the first half of the season.
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The final squad heading to the USA will be confirmed at least 10 days before the start of the tournament, where Venezuela will play Mexico, Ecuador and Jamaica in Group B.
Castillo played all four group matches at the previous Copa America played in Brazil (2021) while he was with Caracas FC.
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