Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has been praised by Steve Hodge after his goal yesterday. The player opened the scoring for Forest after just six minutes of the clash against Aston Villa.
Aina checked in at Forest during the summer transfer window. He was the club’s first summer signing and joined on a free transfer after leaving Serie A outfit Torino.
Aina has been a fantastic addition to the Forest squad and yesterday he managed to grab his first goal for the club. His strike sailed into the net and left Emi Martinez with absolutely no chance.
Hodge hails Aina after first Forest goal
Aina grasped his chance to start in a more natural right-back role for Forest. He marauded forward in the early stages and found himself on the end of a Harry Toffolo pass to get his shot away.
Hodge was impressed with Forest defender Aina and after his wonderful goal, he said on BBC Radio Nottingham: “It’s great technique, he got over the ball and it flew past the goalkeeper.”
The 27-year-old looks like a brilliant addition to the ranks and he will hope that he can stay in the team and grab some more goals as the season progresses.
Aina proving shrewd signing for Steve Cooper
Right now, Forest are a little bit short of full-backs. Gonzalo Montiel is injured, whilst Nuno Tavares is only just recovering from an injury issue of his own.
In Aina, Forest have a player who can operate on both sides of the pitch and his pace is proving a very useful attribute. It’s no secret that Cooper wants his full-backs to get forward and Aina loves to do that.
Forest did land some big-money additions during the summer. In Aina, however, they look to have hit the jackpot. So far, very few players have made the impact that the defender has at the City Ground.
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