Two Sky Bet Championship clubs — Birmingham City and Derby County — have entered the race to sign Nigerian winger Philip Otele from Swiss Super League champions FC Basel.

Derby County have already opened preliminary talks with FC Basel over a potential transfer, according to reports from transfeed. The English second-tier sides will face considerable competition, however, with Serie A clubs Lecce and Frosinone also keeping a close eye on Otele's availability.

The 27-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Bundesliga club Hamburg, but his spell in Germany failed to deliver the impact expected. Otele managed just one goal in nine league appearances, and Hamburg chose not to activate a permanent transfer option when his loan expired.

FC Basel are now prepared to allow Otele to leave and are expected to set their asking price at around €5 million.