Fix to make it possible to use a static property function in a transformation

In trying to find out how to use a static property function in a transformation, I was lead to this stack overflow post:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5103026/in-msbuild-can-i-use-the-string-replace-function-on-a-metadata-item?lq=1

It provides an answer that apparently worked before MSBuild 12.0, but is now broken. Is it true that this is impossible? Could this be fixed?

To clarify, I would like to populate an item group with something like:

`
@(Original->'$([Class]::Method(%(Identity)))')

`

Doing this inside a target is not an option for me, since I need it to populate an ItemGroup used by Visual Studio before any target is or can be run.

Note also that instance property functions can be used, but I think just not static ones.

Thanks so much!