Izuchukwu Okosi
Super Eagles defender Ola Aina is looking forward to Saturday’s Premier League meeting with his boyhood club Chelsea and insists there’s is no animosity towards the club.
The Nigerian was released by the Blues whilst as a youngster before he moved on to new pastures.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelMauricio Pochettino’s side have three Super Eagles eligible players in their ranks – Noni Madueke, Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukwuemeka but Aina is rather focused on helping his current team that are looking to avoid relegation.
Nottingham Forest will avoid a drop to the Championship if they avoid a defeat and results involving other teams in the relegation dogfight go their way.
“I don’t know if this is going to get me in trouble, but I am a Chelsea fan,” the Nigerian international who was in the CAF Team of the Tournament at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire told the BBC.
“It’s a fixture I’ve been looking forward to and I’m excited to be involved in it to see what happens.
“I don’t think there’s any point to prove. I don’t hold grudges or anything – whatever happened in the past happened.
Despite wanting to extend his stint at Chelsea which was not the case, Aina holds no grudges against his developmental side.
“There’s no animosity there. It’s just the career of a footballer.
“I only have fond memories of being at Chelsea. It’s a chapter that closed and (I’ve) moved on, just how anyone else would,” Aina, who later played at Fulham and Serie A side, Torino said assuredly.
The crucial game for both sides in their quest for Premier League football and European qualification respectively kicks off at 5.30pm Nigerian time on Saturday.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
