West Ham United are ahead of Chelsea in the race for coveted Norwegian striker Tarik Elyounoussi.

Chelsea and other top clubs have been monitoring the Under-21 international but Alan Curbishley is in pole position to sign him, says the Daily Mail.

The West Ham manager will have to pay about £3million for the 19-year-old who turned down trials at Chelsea and Portsmouth last season.

Elyounoussi, who plays for Fredrikstad in Norway, was the country's Young Player of the Year in 2006 after helping his club win the League Cup.