Top 5 South American talents who can make a move to Europe in the next transfer window

#3 Thiago Maia (Santos)

A defensive midfielder capable of breaking up play and setting up attacks with equal ease, Thiago Maia is considered to be one of the brightest talents in Santos and Brazil. Already a first-team regular at Santos, Maia is considered to be a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets at Barcelona although Chelsea, Manchester United and Juventus have all shown an interest.

The player joined Santos in 2011 from Sao Caetano’s youth categories. He went on to make his debut for Santos in October 2014 in the match against Chapecoense, during the Serie A Championship. The 19-year-old defensive midfielder established himself as a regular starter at Santos in the 2015 campaign after an injury forced fellow Brazilian Alison Lopes Ferreira out in June.

An integral part of the Brazil squad which won the Olympic gold medal, Thiago Maia might well be playing in Europe next season, with Barcelona or Chelsea being his most likely destination.

About the author

A Bengaluru lad through and through, Ashwin Hanagudu is a huge fan of Liverpool and unsurprisingly pledges his sworn allegiance to RCB in the IPL. With over 8+ years of experience in this field, Ashwin manages multiple verticals at Sportskeeda and as of July 2024 is the most-read author in the football section.

Apart from his duties at Sportskeeda, Ashwin Hanagudu is also an active table tennis player and has played multiple state ranking and national tournaments representing Karnataka.

A huge sports fan, some of the athletes and sportspersons he admires in no particular order are Virat Kohli, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu

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Edited by Staff Editor