Ola Aina signs new three-year deal at Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has signed a new three-year contract with the club, extending his stay at the City Ground until the summer of 2028.

The Nigeria international, who initially joined Forest on a one-year deal in July 2023 after leaving Italian club Torino, has featured regularly under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo. Forest activated an automatic one-year extension to his original deal in May 2024 following their successful bid to remain in the Premier League. That option kept him at the club through the 2024–25 season, after which negotiations progressed for a longer-term agreement.

Speaking on the deal, Aina said he was pleased to continue his career at the club, which he joined after previous stints with Chelsea, Hull City, Fulham, and Torino.

Forest confirmed the contract renewal on Saturday, following a season in which Aina made 37 appearances across all competitions, including key contributions in the club’s seventh-place Premier League finish and their FA Cup semi-final run. He began his Forest career primarily as a left-back but transitioned to the right side of defence in the most recent campaign.

Aina, 28, has played a total of 59 games for Forest, scoring three goals and providing two assists since arriving in England from Serie A. His performances over the past two seasons prompted Forest’s decision to offer him a longer-term deal.

The club also extended the contracts of striker Chris Wood and centre-back Murillo earlier in the 2024–25 season, while head coach Nuno Espirito Santo signed a new deal in June, committing to Forest until 2028.

Aina began his football career at Chelsea’s academy, where he made six senior appearances. He spent the 2017–18 season on loan at Hull City in the Championship before joining Torino on loan in 2018. The Italian side later exercised their option to make the move permanent, and Aina went on to make 113 appearances for the club in all competitions. He also spent the 2020–21 season on loan at Fulham.

Although born in London and having represented England at youth level, Aina switched international allegiance to Nigeria in 2017 and has since earned 40 caps for the Super Eagles.