English Premier League side Nottingham Forest have handed a contract extension to Super Eagles defender Ola Aina, the club announced on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old has been solid for Forest since joining them on a free transfer from Serie A side Torino on a one-year deal at the start of the past season.
Aina put in some brilliant performances to help his team escape relegation and has now been rewarded with an extension which will keep him in England where he said he wants to be for now.
Via official channels, the club said they are pleased with Aina’s contribution to the team and have given him a one-year extension.
Ola Aina this season
The versatile full-back has had a rather eventful season with personal accolades and battles with injuries and fitness issues.
He clocked 22 games for Nottingham Forest this season and scored against Aston Villa in November last year in a 2-0 win and then got an assist the following weekend against West Ham.
In January, the defender linked up with the Super Eagles and had a fantastic tournament with Nigeria going all the way to the final before losing 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast in the final.
His performances at the AFCON earned great reviews and was deservedly named in the team of the tournament alongside compatriots Ademola Lookman of Atalanta and William Troost-Ekong of PAOK Salonika.
On return to Forest from the AFCON, he had to sit out the games against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brighton and Hove Albion and Luton Town.
Since his return to injury, he played all the games in the Premier League for Forest bar the last game of the season against Burnley.
What they said
Nottingham Forest Chief Football Officer Ross Wilson added said the club has been impressed with the Nigerian since he joined hence the decision to hand him a new deal.
“Since Ola joined the club last summer he has impressed all of us with his performances both on the pitch and also with the positive personality that he brings to the group every day.
“We are delighted that he will move forward with us,” he said via the club’s official website.
Aina, who was pleased with the deal also said he is happy to stay and is already looking forward to the future with the club.
“I’ve been really happy with my time spent here at Forest and the fans have been great.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”
Nottingham Forest this season
Forest, who also have Super Eagles forward Taiwo Awoniyi in their ranks finished 17th on the Premier League log with 32 points which was enough to save them from relegation.
The team won only nine games all season while they drew nine games and lost 20 games to top 32 points.
They scored 49 goals in the just-concluded season and conceded 67 with a negative goal difference of -18.
They managed to scrape through as Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town all went down.
