Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa Aina [1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | [2] | 8 October 1996||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Southwark, London, England | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) [3] | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Full-back | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Nottingham Forest | ||||||||||||||||
Number | 43 | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
2007–2015 | Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2015–2019 | Chelsea | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2017–2018 | → Hull City (loan) | 44 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | → Torino (loan) | 30 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
2019–2023 | Torino | 72 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
2020–2021 | → Fulham (loan) | 31 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
2023– | Nottingham Forest | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
2011–2012 | England U16 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2012–2013 | England U17 | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2013 | England U18 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2013–2015 | England U19 | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2015–2016 | England U20 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2017– | Nigeria | 40 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:14, 5 June 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:57, 11 February 2024 (UTC) |
Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa "Ola" Aina MON (born 8 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Born in England, he plays for the Nigeria national team.
Ola Aina signed for Chelsea as an under-11 and made his youth team debut as a schoolboy in the 2012–13 season and went on to start in both legs of the semi-final and final of the FA Youth Cup. In his youth career, he has also represented Chelsea in the under-18s, under-19s, and under-21 levels. [4] On 19 July 2014, Aina made his first-team debut in a pre-season friendly against AFC Wimbledon, after Todd Kane's injury. Aina started the match and was substituted at half-time for Branislav Ivanović as Chelsea went on to win 3–2. [5]
Before the 2015–16 season, he was included in the pre-season tour, playing three matches in the International Champions Cup. After impressing Chelsea manager José Mourinho, Aina was included in the first-team squad for the campaign. Although he spent the entire season training full-time with the first-team, he continued his role in the under-21s and under-19s sides. [4] On 23 September 2015, Aina was included in the match-day squad against Walsall in the fourth round of the League Cup, although he was an unused substitute. [6]
Due to a lack of first-team opportunities, Aina refused a new contract despite his current contact ending at the end of the season. [7]
On 6 July 2016, he signed a new four-year contract, ending the rumours of him leaving the London side. [8] After signing a new contract, Aina was included in the travelling squad to Austria and the United States. He went on to play in all six pre-season matches. On 23 August 2016, Aina was given his professional debut by manager Antonio Conte in a 3–2 victory over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup, being replaced by John Terry in the 77th minute. [9] On 15 October 2016, he made his Premier League debut in a 3–0 victory over reigning champions Leicester City, replacing goalscorer Victor Moses in the 82nd minute. [10]
On 11 July 2017, Chelsea announced that they had loaned Aina to Championship side Hull City. [11] He made his debut on the opening day of the season, 5 August 2017, away to Aston Villa, in a 1–1 draw. [12] He scored the only goal in a 1–0 defeat of Blackburn Rovers in the third-round of the FA Cup on 6 January 2018. [13]
On 14 August 2018, Aina joined Italian club Torino on a season-long loan after signing a new three-year deal with Chelsea. [14] He made his Serie A debut a few days later in Torino's 0–1 opening day defeat at home to Roma, coming on as a substitute in place of fellow right-back Lorenzo De Silvestri who went off injured after just 25 minutes. [15] Aina scored his first goal for Torino in a match against Udinese on 2 February 2019. [16] Aina made 30 Serie A appearances in what was a strong season for Il Toro, whose seventh place finish secured a Europa League qualifying spot. [17]
On 11 June 2019, Torino triggered Aina's option to permanently transfer from Chelsea for a reported fee of £9 million. [18] He was a regular again during his second season in Turin, playing 37 times in all competitions. [17]
On 11 September 2020, Aina returned to the Premier League, signing for Fulham on an initial season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent. [17] On 2 November, Aina scored his first goal for the club, and in the Premier League, in a 2–0 home win over West Brom, shooting into the top-left corner from outside the penalty area. [19] The strike was later selected as the goal of the month by the Premier League. [20] Aina became the third Fulham player to win the Budweiser Goal of the Month award, after Jean Michaël Seri and André Schürrle both won the prize in 2018–19. [20]
On 22 July 2023, following his release from Torino, Aina joined Nottingham Forest on a one year contract. [21] He made his debut for the club on 12 August in a 2–1 loss against Arsenal in the Premier League. [22] On 5 November, Aina scored his first goal for Forest in a 2–0 win over Aston Villa at the City Ground. [23]
On 21 May 2024, the club announced that they had activated a one-year contract extension for Aina. [24]
Aina has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and England under-20 levels.
On 28 March 2017, Aina was pictured alongside Chuba Akpom of Arsenal after discussions with Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick. [25] In May 2017, Aina pledged his international future to Nigeria and obtained a Nigerian passport in preparation to making the switch from England to Nigeria. [26] [27] In the same month, he was called up for the first time to play for Nigeria. [28]
In May 2018 he was named in Nigeria's preliminary 30 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. [29] However, he did not make the final 23. [30] He was later recalled into the squad and played a major role in the team's qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt. He played the first match against tournament debutant Burundi, assisting the only goal of the match.
On 25 December 2021, He was shortlisted in 2021 AFCON Nations Cup by Caretaker Coach Eguavoen as part of the 28-Man Nigeria Squad. [31]
Club | Season | League | National cup [lower-alpha 1] | League cup [lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chelsea | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016–17 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
Hull City (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 44 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 46 | 1 | |
Torino (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
Torino | 2019–20 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 [lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
2021–22 | Serie A | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
2022–23 | Serie A | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | |||
Total | 102 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 113 | 2 | ||
Fulham (loan) | 2020–21 | Premier League | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | |
Nottingham Forest | 2023–24 | Premier League | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | |
Career total | 202 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 220 | 6 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | 2017 | 3 | 0 |
2018 | 4 | 0 | |
2019 | 10 | 0 | |
2020 | 1 | 0 | |
2021 | 3 | 0 | |
2022 | 9 | 0 | |
2023 | 3 | 0 | |
2024 | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 40 | 0 |
Aina has a brother, Jordan, who formerly played for Fulham Academy. [34] [35]
Chelsea Youth [36]
Nigeria
Individual
Orders
Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano is an Argentine professional football coach and former goalkeeper who is currently the assistant head coach of Premier League club Chelsea.
Philippe Sylvain Senderos is a Swiss retired professional footballer who played as a defender.
Omatsone Folarin Aluko is a former professional footballer who played as a forward or winger.
David Luiz Moreira Marinho is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. He is primarily a centre back but has also been deployed as a defensive midfielder.
Willian Borges da Silva, known mononymously as Willian, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Fulham.
Victor Moses is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger on either flank. He has also been deployed as a wing-back at times during his career.
Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Marseille and captains the Gabon national team.
Olivier Jonathan Giroud is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for MLS club Los Angeles FC and the France national team. He is France's all-time highest goalscorer.
Alexandre Armand Lacazette is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Lyon. He plays mainly as a striker, but has also been deployed as a second striker and wide forward.
Ross Barkley is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.
Calum Chambers is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Premier League club Aston Villa.
Nathaniel Nyakie Chalobah is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for the EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Born in Sierra Leone, he has represented the England national team.
Chuba Amechi Akpom is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club Ajax.
Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Brazil national team.
Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan.
Saša Lukić is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Serbia national team.
Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Leicester City and the Nigeria national team. Ndidi is known for his defensive prowess.
Alexander Chuka Iwobi is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Fulham and the Nigeria national team.
The 2016–17 season was Chelsea's 103rd competitive season, 28th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 25th consecutive season in the Premier League and 112th year in existence as a football club. In addition to the domestic league, Chelsea participated in the FA Cup and League Cup; however, they did not participate in any UEFA competition for the first time since the 1996–97 season. The season covered the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Bukayo Ayoyinka Temidayo Saka is an English professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Premier League club Arsenal and the England national team. He is regarded as one of the best wingers in the world.