Nottingham Forest signed Nigeria defender Ola Aina on a free transfer on Saturday after he departed from Torino.
Aina agreed to a one-year contract with Forest as he returns to the Premier League after his spell in Italy.
Aina spent nearly five years with Torino after initially moving there on loan from Chelsea in 2018.
The 26-year-old right-back graduated from Chelsea’s youth academy and made three appearances for the Blues.
During his time with Torino, London-born Aina returned to the English capital for a loan spell with Fulham in the 2020-21 season.
He is the first signing by Forest boss Steve Cooper since the end of last season.
“I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started. I wanted to be back on English soil again and Forest is a club which has an exciting project and team,” Aina said.
“The manager as well, what he wants from the team is something which I want to buy into. He’s told me it’s a family club, he’s told me we have a great bunch of players and he’s told me I’ll enjoy it here”.
“It’s exciting to be back playing in the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world and I always want to challenge myself.
“I know some of the boys well already, which is good for me, but I’m excited to meet the rest of my teammates and get to know everyone. I saw Forest in action last season and the fans are as loud as can be throughout the whole game, which is something I’m relishing and can’t wait to experience. I can’t wait for it.”
Aina, who has 17 caps for Nigeria, helped Torino to a 10th-place finish in Serie A last season.
“He’s a versatile player who has good experience of the Premier League and Serie A,” Cooper said.
“He’s a really good player, but a good athlete as well. He’ll definitely make the team stronger.”
