Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina hopes he hasn’t landed himself in ‘trouble’ after admitting he’s a huge Chelsea fan. The 27-year-old full-back started his career at Stamford Bridge as an Under-11 but was unable to bridge the gap to the first team before a £9m move to Italian club Torino.
Since moving to the City Ground on a free transfer last summer, the Nigerian has played 21 games for the Reds and been a firm regular in recent weeks as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men push for Premier League survival.
And Aina will be putting his boyhood passions firmly to one side this evening as he looks to help the Reds do the double over Chelsea after their 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in September.
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“I don’t know if this is going to get me in trouble, but I am a Chelsea fan.” Aina told BBC East Midlands Today. “It’s a fixture I’ve been looking forward to and I’m excited to be involved in it to see what happens.”
On his time at the Blues, Aina added: “It’s football really. Sometimes you’re high and sometimes you’re low. It’s just about trying to get a balance and stay consistent. That’s what I’ve been trying to do.
“I don’t think there’s any point to prove. I don’t hold grudges or anything - whatever happened in the past happened. There’s no animosity there. It’s just the career of a footballer.
“I only have fond moments of being at Chelsea. It’s a chapter that closed and [I’ve] moved on, just how anyone else would.”
