Nottingham Forest star issues plea to Evangelos Marinakis, he’s desperate to stay

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Nottingham Forest were beaten by Fulham on Saturday but remain in third place in the Premier League table despite another setback away from the City Ground.

The Reds defeated Brighton 7-0 before the round of FA Cup fixtures took centre stage. However, this proved a bit of a backward step as the Cottagers dominated from start to finish to run out 2-1 winners at Craven Cottage.

There was little to shout about from a Forest perspective. Troy Deeney raved about Chris Wood and elsewhere, Anthony Elanga played Premier League football for the 100th time – but that’s about it.

Forest were indebted to Matz Sels between the posts. Without the in-form Belgian producing the goods to deny Fulham, this scoreline might have resembled the five-goal deficit that the Reds lost at Bournemouth last month.

• READ MORE: Nottingham Forest player ratings vs Fulham

Ola Aina delivers Nottingham Forest contract verdict

It’s not great that Aina is now in the final few months of his contract at Forest. The player was signed for free from Torino and overseas clubs are actually able to discuss a pre-contract agreement to sign him in the summer right now.

Aina has been one of Forest’s top players this season. He’s stood by as Forest tied Murillo to a new deal in January and then did the same thing with Chris Wood who will remain on Trentside for two more years.

The defender is happy at Forest it would seem. Before the game with Fulham, he was asked about his future at the City Ground and quizzed on whether he’d like to stay on Trentside beyond this season.

He told Sky Sports: “I hope so, I really enjoy it here, I enjoy the players, the staff the community, as a club I enjoy everything about it, it’s a good place so yeah hopefully I will be here for a long time.”

Ola Aina stats 2024/25

It’s fair to say that the Nigerian richly deserves a new contract before the season is out. Amid a host of top performers this season, he’s been one of the best and to say he’s playing as a right-back that’s pretty spectacular.

Furthermore, Aina seems to fit into the ethos of what Forest are trying to do when it comes to their squad. He’s at a nice age and not only is he a good footballer, but he’s also seemingly a good character in the dressing room.

At 28, Aina is in his prime. He can play in either full-back position and it would be a complete shame to see him walk away from Forest for nothing just two years after he joined the club.

Something is amiss when it comes to Aina. Why would Forest tie down Wood and Murillo in January but play a waiting game with a player who has proved as important if not more important than those two players?

Hopefully, a resolution can be reached in the coming months because losing Aina would mean that a sizeable hole would need replacing in the Forest squad prior to next season.