Even though Ola Aina left Chelsea nearly six years ago, he’s named a current Blues star as one of his favourites players to watch.
Ola Aina, 28, has had an interesting career in senior football since coming out of the Chelsea academy.
The talented right-back, who has 40 international caps for Nigeria, was sold by the Blues in 2019 after making only six first-team appearances in Chelsea colours.
Eventually, he ended up joining Nottingham Forest in 2023, where he’s playing the best football of his career so far. The energetic full-back has been a key player for a Forest side competing for Champions League qualification this season.
It’s been reported that Chelsea may be interested in re-signing Ola Aina, but Forest are trying to negotiate a new deal for him to stay at the City Ground beyond the summer.
Ola Aina loves watching Chelsea’s Cole Palmer
Aina has shared that Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer, 22, is one of his favourite players.
When asked which players he enjoys watching, Aina told ESPN: “Cole Palmer. Ademola [Lookman] is up there. I have to put my boy [Alex] Iwobi. He’s having a sick season.”
Palmer has been a breath of fresh air during his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge, emerging as one of Europe’s most exciting and talented attacking midfielders.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 86 | 39 | 25 |
For the first time in his Blues career, the England international is going through a dip in form, failing to score in his previous 18 games across all competitions.
Gary Cahill isn’t worried about Cole Palmer’s form, though, because he insists the left-footed playmaker is still doing all the right things on the football pitch.
Overall, he’s still made some key contributions at Chelsea this season. He’s got the opportunity to get them over the line in the race for Champions League football, too.
Ola Aina names Chelsea target as one of his toughest opponents
During the ESPN interview Aina also delivered a glowing assessment of Victor Osimhen, who’s frequently linked with a potential move to Chelsea.
After choosing Osimhen as one of the three toughest forwards he’s faced in his career, Aina said: “He doesn’t give you any time to breathe. As a defender, if you’ve got a striker just on to you relentlessly, it’s jarring.”
It’s been claimed that Victor Osimhen has set his sights on a move to Chelsea this summer as the Blues prepare to ramp up their interest.
The 26-year-old frontman, who’s still owned by Napoli, has been on fire during a loan spell at Galatasaray this season. He’s scored 31 goals in 36 games across all competitions for the Turkish giants.
On paper, he’s definitely the type of striker that Chelsea needs to sign to inject more goals into the attack.
