January Transfer Rumours: 11 South American Stars Set for Move to Europe

Ever wonder where all of European football's great South American stars come from?

Duh, you say? South America, genius!

Yes, yes, of course. But how about the stars of tomorrow?

They're toiling away right now in South America, far from the bright lights of the European football machine.

Not for long, though.

These guys are good—very good—and if things go the way we think they will in January, we'll be seeing some new stars-in-the-making very soon on a European pitch near you.

Neymar

Name: Neymar

Full name: Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior

Age: 19

Club: Santos (Brazil)

Country: Brazil

Position: Forward

The skinny: Forget what the president of Santos keeps saying—Neymar is heading for a big-money move.

And it will happen sooner than later.

Real Madrid players think he'd be a good fit at Santiago Bernabeu (of course they do).

Barcelona also has shown interest.

Neymar has already earned 15 caps for Brazil's full international squad, scoring eight goals.

Ganso

Name: Ganso

Full name: Paolo Henrique Chagas de Lima

Other full name: Paolo Henrique Ganso

Age: 22

Club: Santos (Brazil)

Country: Brazil

Position: Attacking midfielder

The skinny: Paolo Henrique Ganso is another up-and-coming Santos star who's been linked with big moves to Europe. He's been capped seven times by Brazil.

He's been a little more explicit than Neymar about wanting out of Brazil.

Back in the summer, Ganso was linked with Manchester United and AC Milan, among others.

We think someone will snatch him up this winter.

Leandro Damião

Name: Leandro Damião

Full name: Leandro Damião da Silva dos Santos

Club: Internacional (Brazil)

Country: Brazil

Age: 22

Position: Forward

The skinny: Leandro Damião produced perhaps the most memorable moment of skill from Brazil's recent friendly against Argentina. Watch it here.

Not surprisingly, he's attracted interest from European clubs, including Liverpool, Inter and Spurs.

He has four caps and one goal with Brazil's full international squad.

Oscar

Name: Oscar

Full name: Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior

Club: Internacional (Brazil)

Country: Brazil

Age: 20

Position: Attacking midfielder

The skinny: Oscar is the latest player to be dubbed the new Kaká. He's been capped twice by Brazil, with no goals so far.

GiveMeFootball.com reckons he's a target of Tottenham and Barcelona.

SkySports says it's AC Milan, Barcelona and Tottenham.

Igor Lichnovsky

Name: Igor Lichnovsky

Full name: Igor Lichnovsky Osorio

Club: Universidad de Chile (Chile)

Country: Chile

Age: 17

Position: Defender

The skinny: Don't be fooled by the name; Igor Lichnovsky is Chilean.

The 6'1" center back is being courted by Chelsea, if SkySports is to be believed.

Chelsea could use him after Saturday's match.

Nicolas Lopez

Name: Nicolás López

Full name: Nicolás Federico López Alonso

Club: Nacional (Uruguay)

Country: Uruguay

Age: 18

Position: Forward

The skinny: Nicolás López is an 18-year-old forward with Nacional in Uruguay. According to his Wikipedia page, his nickname is El Conejo ("the rabbit").

He's already flirted with a move to Europe, and now Roma, Palermo and Udinese are reportedly interested.

Juan

Name: Juan

Full name: Juan Guilherme Nunes Jesus

Club: Internacional (Brazil)

Country: Brazil

Age: 20

Position: Defender

The skinny: Brazilian center back Juan, an Under-20 World Cup winner, has been linked with a move from his club, Internacional, to Europe.

Recent reports have suggested he's open to a move to one of the Milan clubs.

This report says Inter lead the chase, while Napoli are also interested.

Andy Polo

Name: Andy Polo

Club: Universitario (Peru)

Country: Peru

Age: 17

Position: Forward

The skinny: Andy Polo is a 17-year-old sensation who currently plays for Universitario de Deportes of Peru.

Dubbed the new Sergio Aguero (we thought he was kind of new on the world scene), Polo has been linked with moves to England and Germany.

The most recent reports say he'll snub England in favor of the Bundesliga.

Borges

Name: Borges

Full name: Humberlito Borges Teixeira

Club: Santos (Brazil)

Country: Brazil

Age: 31

Position: Forward

The Skinny: Hey, it's an old guy!

Borges is yet another Santos player who appears ready for a move to Europe.

The striker has scored 22 goals in 28 games this term.

His agent refused to rule out a January move.

Lucas Ocampos

Name: Lucas Ocampos

Full name: Lucas Ariel Ocampos

Club: River Plate (Argentina)

Country: Argentina

Age: 17

Position: Winger

The skinny: River Plate president Daniel Passarella says Ocampos isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Chelsea are considering a bid of up to €17 million. Inter had a €16 million offer rejected in the summer.

Eduardo Vargas

Name: Eduardo Vargas

Full name: Eduardo Jesús Vargas Rojas

Club: Universidad de Chile (Chile)

Country: Chile

Age: 21

Position: Forward

The Skinny: Vargas has made seven appearances for Chile, scoring twice.

He's drawing interest from big European clubs, including AC Milan.