It’s become hard to focus on Ola Aina’s ability on the pitch for Nottingham Forest given the endless discussion about his contract situation.
Forest are working hard to sign Aina to a new deal but there has been very little update on the talks despite all parties involved seemingly on the same page about the eventual outcome.
Back in February, Aina admitted that he hoped to stay at Forest so there seems to be little standing in the way of a deal being struck for one of Nuno Espirito Santo’s most crucial players.
Even links to other clubs seem to have dried up as Manchester City have yet to make a move for Aina, so hopefully this international break has given Evangelos Marinakis the time to finalise an offer to keep the Nigerian international amongst the Forest squad next season.
Aina is currently away with Nigeria so would need to wait to continue any talks but in the meantime, the Forest right-back has had to help his national team by playing out of position against Rwanda.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Ola Aina delivers steady performance at left-back for Nigeria
After Antoine Semenyo named Aina as his toughest opponent, the footballing world has started to recognise that the Reds right-back is one of the top defensive talents in the country.
He is also adaptable, though, which made the job of filling in for his country at left back in the 2-0 away victory over Rwanda a task he was comfortable with.
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Seen dancing with his teammates after the match, Aina’s steady performance against Rwanda was reflected in the player ratings given by Soccernet, who scored the Forest man a 6.4.
On his display, the report said: “The Nottingham Forest full-back had a decent game, considering he played as a left-back. He kept things tight at the back, although he’d have preferred to attack more if he played in a more familiar role. He was replaced by Bruno Onyemaechi in the 68th minute.”
Whilst the 2-0 win was a welcome result, Aina and Nigeria still have a lot of work to do to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Ola Aina’s World Cup chances with Nigeria hang in the balance
Nigeria have qualified for the World Cup on six occasions, making them one of the more successful African national sides. However, their qualifying campaign has not been a straightforward one.
The Super Eagles currently sit fourth in their World Cup qualifying group, behind South Africa, Benin and Rwanda and given the rules as to how African teams qualify for the 2026 tournament, Aina’s side are in a perilous position.
According to the governing body, CAF: “The African qualifiers will be played across two rounds. The first will be contested in the form of a group stage, with nine groups of six teams each. Each team will play two matches, home and away, against each of their opponents.
“The top finisher in each group will qualify for World Cup 26. The second round will pit the four best runners-up in two one-off semi-finals, followed by a final. The winner of this second round will participate in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.”
With five games to play, Nigeria are four points behind leaders South Africa in their group, knowing that topping the group is by far the easiest way to make it to USA 2026.
The Premier League is guaranteed a fifth Champions League spot so Aina will almost certainly get to experience continental football with Forest, but his ambitions on the international stage are far from secure.