Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic reckons new Scotland manager Sebastian Pocognoli will call up Oli McBurnie and end his five-and-a-half-year international exile.
The striker won the last of his 17 caps in March 2021 against the Faroe Islands and has been absent from the Scotland set-up since.
McBurnie, 30, netted 19 goals last season, including the winner in the play-off final against Middlesbrough, which secured Hull City's promotion.
He revealed he phoned former Scotland boss Steve Clarke to seek an explanation as to why he wasn't featuring in his squad, which Clarke later admitted he was frustrated at because McBurnie made the conversation public.
He then didn't make the Scotland World Cup squad, but has played a large part in Hull's excellent start to the season after they defeated Manchester United and Coventry City.
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And Hull's Bosnian boss is certain new Scotland manager Pocognoli will include him when he names his squad for Scotland's cluster of Nations League games against Slovenia home and away, Switzerland and North Macedonia.
He said: "This is a question for the new head coach of the Scotland team.
"But he deserved to be at the World Cup already because he had great numbers last season and he is very important as a team player.
"Even in our two games this season, he just missed scoring a goal and didn't have a lot of chances because he worked a lot for the team and his presence is very valuable to us and the team.
"He is a leader without being captain. He's important to us and I expect that he will get the invitation for September."
