Nottingham Forest battle two Premier League rivals for World Cup star with Elliot Anderson cash

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Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Brentford are among a list of clubs tracking Ivory Coast sensation Christ Inao Oulai.

The 20-year-old gem has been one of the breakout stars of the World Cup after helping Les Elephants to an admirable second-place finish in Group E.

Incredibly, Oulai is valued at up to £34.5million (€40m) by Turkish side Trabzonspor, who are eyeing a bumper payday for the 20-year-old prospect.

He cost them just shy of £5m from French second division outfit Bastia, who have a 20% sell-on clause, last summer and he now looks destined for a big-money transfer.

BLACKSKILL claim to represent Oulai, though it's understood a number of top, world-renowned agencies such as CAA Stellar and Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports are keen to add him to their stable and assist with the the process.

Forest, in particular, have taken a liking to Oulai as Elliot Anderson prepares to join Manchester City in a deal worth a whopping £116million.

While Oulai is not thought to be viewed as a direct replacement for the England international, he is one of several midfield targets that could bolster Vitor Pereira's set-up alongside Tottenham's Lucas Bergvall.

Meanwhile, Brentford are focusing their efforts on signing a new defensive midfielder and winger after missing out on FC Koln attacker Said El Mala.

Oulai fits the bill for the Bees but Trabzonspor sources do not expect the auction to formally escalate while the player is at the World Cup.

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The athletic midfielder has this week deleted all but one of the Trabzonspor-based posts on his Instagram , hinting his future could now lie elsewhere.

PSG and RB Leipzig are also said to be weighing up a swoop while Chelsea sources are yet to confirm interest despite reports to the contrary.

Oulai, who helped Trabzonspor win the Turkish Cup last season, recently said: "My goal is to help the team as much as I can and introduce myself to the whole world ."

Fulham have also been linked as they've also shown an interest in Trabzonspor's young Nigerian defender Chibuike Nwaiwu but it's unclear whether they're genuinely in the mix.

At this stage, the Turkish outfit have not received any bids for Oulai, though that is expected to change very soon as the race for his signature begins to intensify.