The 19-year-old Brazilian midfielder Thiago Maia is quickly emerging as the most exciting prospect in world football.

The talented Santos starlet has caught the eye of Europe’s top clubs playing for Brazil at the Olympics in Rio where host nation managed to win the gold medal.

The highly-rated midfielder has had a fairly successful campaign behind him as he also won the Campeonato Paulista with his club and was named in the Team of the Year in this regional competition.

Maia has spent mere two years in his professional career thus far but is already being tracked by plenty of clubs keen to prize him away from Brazil.

Jose Mourinho was believed to be eyeing a potential move for the midfielder, whereas the race appears to hot up with five more European sides keeping a close eye on the player.

And according to ESPN Brasil, the likes of Monaco, Schalke, Napoli and Zenit St Petersburg are among the clubs interested in Santos starlet.

Russian side Zenit are the only one to have submitted an offer so far, but their €18 million approach was rejected.

The left-footed defence-oriented midfield enforcer has also emerged as a potential January target for Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp already being added to the growing list of Maia’s admirers.

The German tactician is looking to add the highly-rated Brazilian as a support for Jordan Henderson in the holding position and with Maia’s compatriots Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho already on the books at Anfield, the Reds appear to be in the front row for the 19-year-old.

Liverpool are keen to add some fresh blood in the January transfer market to increase their chances of challenging for the Premier League title.

The Reds are currently standing at 6.00 (5/1) @Bet365 to pip the frontrunners Chelsea to the coveted trophy.