Gaston Ramirez is preparing to take on the might of Brazil as speculation over his Saints future resurfaces once again.

The midfield playmaker is part of the Uruguay squad who will take on the might of host nation Brazil in the Confederations Cup semi-final tonight.

But even while he is in South America the talk of a move from St Mary’s this summer refuses to budge.

This latest bout of speculation was not just fuelled by the media but courtesy of comments attributed to his agent, Pablo Betancourt, who was quoted as saying that both Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are interested in him.

He added that it would be difficult for Ramirez to return to Italy, with the man Saints paid Bologna £12m for last summer having also been linked with Juventus and Fiorentina.

Ramirez enjoyed an up and down first season with Saints as he made 20 starts for the club, with a further six appearances from the bench, scoring five goals.

He has featured in two of three of Uruguay’s group matches in Brazil and is in contention for a starting line-up spot tonight.

Ramirez played the first half in Uruguay’s opener, a 2-1 lose to Spain, was an unused sub as his country defeated Nigeria 2-1 and played the first 69 minutes as they thumped Tahiti 8-0 to make it through to the semi-finals.

Ahead of tonight’s game Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar has warned his teammates to be especially wary of Uruguay’s strikers.

The Selecao meet the Celeste in Belo Horizonte for a place in the final and QPR goalkeeper Cesar is determined to help his side get over the line.

He does realise, however, that it will be no easy feat as Uruguay have a potent strike force that includes the likes of Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez.

“Those three are very powerful forwards. Individually, they can decide a game,” said Cesar.

“I know all of them very well and we must pay attention because any lapse in concentration could see them decide the game.

“This match is even worse than an Argentina-Brazil derby. There is no favourite to win.”

Cesar, back in the national team after more than two years away, praised Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari for the impact he has had on his recent career.

He added: “I thought of giving up playing after the World Cup, but the moment passed.

“I looked for support from my family to help me go on working. The pressure of being a goalkeeper is similar that of being a president.”

Liverpool striker Suarez, who has scored three goals for Uruguay in the tournament so far, had been impressed by Scolari’s resurgent side.

He said: “I think Brazil are showing the power they’ve lacked in recent years. Their form was not good and that was not good for international football.

“Some national teams did not respect them in the same way because of big changes, even coaching changes, that they’d made. They had ups and downs.

“But now Brazil are earning respect once again. They are the Brazil we used to know and they have a great coach and a great star in Neymar.”

Ahead of the match, Suarez expanded on how much the game means to Uruguay.

“I think any football player would love playing a match between Brazil and Uruguay,” he said. “I have already experienced it during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and it will always motivate you.

“But we also know that neither Brazil nor Uruguay are the same teams they were. Both sides have talent out on the pitch and it’ll be a very good match.”

Ramirez’s club colleague, James Ward-Prowse will also be in international action tonight as the England under-20 side look to bounce back from their disappointing 2-2 draw with Iraq.

England take on Chile in the second group game of their European Championship campaign.