#3 Thiago Maia
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Born in the Boa Vista – the capital of Brazilian state Roraima – Thiago Maia is a defensive midfielder who currently plays for Brazilian club Santos. After recently signing a new contract which keeps him at the club until 2019, Maia joined up with the Brazilian U-20 team and earned his starting place, albeit benefitting from the injury to teammate Alison.
The 20-year-old’s main attributes are his ability to break down play and distribute the ball to his more technically superior teammates. His strength and reading of the game are incredible plus points with the defensive midfielder making a minimum of 3.1 tackles a game in the league, proving that he could do well at a top European team if he keeps his head down and works hard.
At 20 years of age, the deep-lying midfielder could easily finish out his contract at his current club before making his way into European football with Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, and even PSG after the Brazilian.
With regards to his price, Santos have already rejected an offer of €18 million from Zenit St. Peterburg, and with Manchester City shelling out a reported sum of €27 million for Gabriel Jesus, Maia’s price may well rise depending on his performances over the next few seasons.
