Christ Inao Oulai believes Fiorentina offers a 'perfect' environment for young players to develop, stating he 'jumped at the chance' to join the Serie A club from Trabzonspor. The Ivory Coast international completed a transfer worth €26 million plus bonuses this summer.
Speaking at his presentation press conference in Tuscany, the 20-year-old midfielder highlighted the club's project. "The Fiorentina project is perfect for me as the club improves young players. I jumped at the chance to join this club," Oulai stated. "I’ve come here to learn and become a better player. My life has changed a lot in the last 12 months. I’m proud of myself and I’m really happy to have joined Fiorentina."
Oulai is part of a revamped squad under new coach Fabio Grosso, which also includes significant investment in players like Arthur Atta, who arrived from Udinese. "We’re all very young and we’re happy to work together. I’ll always give my all to help the team and will try to put into practice everything the coach asks me to do every day." Oulai also praised his new teammate, saying, "I’ve been particularly impressed by Atta. He’s so talented and skilful."
Drawing inspiration from his compatriots, Oulai named Yaya Toure as a long-standing idol. "I watch lots of great players, but Yaya Toure has always been an idol of mine," he said.
Fiorentina is celebrating its centenary year and aims to significantly improve on last season's performance, which saw them battling to avoid relegation. Oulai expressed the team's determination: "We’ll give 100% in every game and play with grit and determination to try go as far as we possibly can."
In further comments, Oulai reiterated his reasons for choosing Fiorentina. "I said yes to Fiorentina because it’s an historic club, everyone around the world knows this team. It is an ambitious club that was interested in me, they called me to put me in the best conditions, even when I hadn’t joined them yet." He added about the team's approach, "We’ve been working together now for two to three weeks, we will play every game as if it was a Final to achieve something important at the end of the season."
