By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Nottingham Forest have confirmed the signing of Nigerian defender, Ola Aina on a free transfer on Saturday, 22 July, 2023 after his departure from the Italian Seria A side Torino.
Aina, who agreed a one-year contract with Forest as he returns to the Premier League after his spell in Italy, spent nearly five years with Torino after initially moving there on loan from Chelsea in 2018.
The 26-year-old right-back graduated from Chelsea’s youth academy and made three appearances for the Blues.
During his time with Torino, London-born Aina returned to the English capital for a loan spell with Fulham in the 2020-21 season.
He is the first signing by Forest boss Steve Cooper since the end of last season.
“I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started. I wanted to be back on English soil again and Forest is a club which has an exciting project and team,” Aina said.
“The manager as well, what he wants from the team is something which I want to buy into. He’s told me it’s a family club, he’s told me we have a great bunch of players and he’s told me I’ll enjoy it here.”
Aina, who has 17 caps for Nigeria, helped Torino to a 10th place finish in Serie A last season.
“He’s a versatile player who has good experience of the Premier League and Serie A,” Cooper said.
“He’s a really good player, but a good athlete as well. He’ll definitely make the team stronger.”
Source : AFP
