Ivory Coast sensation drawing interest from Manchester City – Hugo Viana huge admirer of the ‘next Yaya Toure’ | OneFootball

Manchester City are among a cluster of major clubs interested in a young Ivorian midfielder with similarities to club legend Yaya Toure, as per a new report.

Pep Guardiola’s side are arguably without the levels of midfield depth required to succeed in all competitions this term, with the Catalan having to lean on the same set of players to perform at a high standard week-in, week-out. 

Tijjani Reijnders was the only midfielder brought in this summer – when Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana revamped Pep Guardiola’s ranks – with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and James McAtee all departing permanently.

City have come up short in certain squad areas in recent transfer windows and despite uncertainty over Guardiola’s future at the club beyond 2027, Viana and co are expected to remain busy as usual in the 2026 transfer markets.

The Blues are keen on bringing Nottingham Forest’s £100 million man Elliot Anderson to the Etihad Stadium, while Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo’s £65 million release clause will also be considered when the January window opens.

Taking a step back, there are other transfer targets that Viana will want to bring to Manchester – including rising Trabzonspor and Ivory Coast star Christ Inao Oulai, who has been scouted by City’s top recruiters, as per TEAMtalk.

The whispers of a potential transfer began in September, when City and Bayern Munich monitored the midfielder, who has secured comparisons to Yaya Toure owing to his tall and strong manner, before United creeped into the queue. 

All three clubs, as per sources cited in the report, now consider Oulai as one of the highest-priority teenage targets in Europe. Though Manchester City will not be nearly as active in the January 2026 market as they were this summer, the Blues could look to add Oulai to their rich roster of young talent.

Oulai’s output on the pitch has corresponded to rising interest in his services from Europe’s elite, displaying his prowess since in the Turkish top-flight, where he has dominated games against experienced counterparts, combined relentless pressing with the vision to thread passes into tight spaces. 

It is understood that Manchester City view the 19-year-old Ivorian star as the ideal long-term partner or eventual successor to Rodri, who has endured a difficult time with injury since he suffered an ACL tear in September 2024.

Since he sustained a hamstring injury against Brentford that saw him leave the pitch after just 22 minutes in early October, Rodri has played one minute for Manchester City – appearing as a late substitute against Bournemouth just over four weeks after the Brentford game. 

Those injury concerns open the door to a potential move and it’s likely that Oulai will not be playing for Trabzonspor for long given his increasing potential but as rumours intensify, the Turkish Super Lig side insist he is not for sale until the summer of 2026.