Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina continues to see his stock rise at the City Ground. On Saturday, he did something absolutely brilliant despite the Reds losing 2-0 to Manchester City.
It’s hard to believe that Aina didn’t cost Forest a penny. He’d spent the last few years with Torino in Serie A but opted to join the Reds after not penning a new deal at the end of last season.
Aina has played in five of the six Premier League games that Forest have played this season. He’s looked composed in each appearance, playing at left-back and right-back.
On Saturday, the Nigeria international did something that was frankly unbelievable. It certainly left Kyle Walker stunned and gave him a feeling that he doesn’t experience all too often.
After Nuno Tavares picked up an injury, Aina reverted to left-back for Forest. Shortly after that, he bombed up the flank and remarkably he burnt Walker – the fastest man in the Premier League – for pace.
It sent a shush around the Etihad Stadium and stunned the City fan base into silence for a moment. Last season, Walker pipped Brennan Johnson to record the fastest burst of speed during the campaign and this definitely came as a shock.
Forest star Aina did something brilliant against Manchester City
This was quite ridiculous and was certainly a surprise. Although Aina has shown that he’s no slouch in the games he’s played this season, few thought he’d be doing Walker for pace any time soon.
The moment certainly goes to show that Aina can prove a very useful addition to the Forest ranks. Sometimes free agents are signed because of a number of factors but clearly, some due diligence has been done with Aina.
At 26-years-old, he has bags of time on his side. Given the start he’s made to the campaign, Forest would be wise to try and tie him down to a longer contract in the near future.
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