Ola Aina is my mentor – Former Chelsea boy

Nottingham Forest star Ola Aina. Copyright: xMIxNewsxImago

Super Eagles and Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has earned praises for his influence by former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson, Soccernet.ng reports.

Hutchinson joined Nottingham Forest from Ipswich Town after an impressive 2024-25 campaign. Although he enjoyed a stunning individual campaign, Ipswich’s relegation from the Premier League forced the club to cash in on the winger in a deal worth £37.5 million.

Despite arriving at the City Ground with high expectations, Hutchinson found life difficult during the early stages of his Forest career. He endured a slow start, struggling to break into the starting lineup and was left to settle for substitute appearances for the earlier parts of the campaign.

His slow adaptation was not helped by the instability at the club, with Forest going through several managerial changes. Nuno Espirito Santo was dismissed before spells under Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche, while Vitor Pereira was eventually appointed to steady the ship.

As the season progressed, Hutchinson gradually established himself as an important member of the squad and played a much bigger role as Forest finished 16th in the Premier League and reached the Europa League semi-finals, where they were eliminated 4-1 on aggregate by fellow English side Aston Villa.

Soccer Omari Hutchinson explains Ola Aina’s influence at Nottingham Forest

Since joining Nottingham Forest from Italian club Torino in 2023, Ola Aina has developed into one of the club’s most influential players both on and off the pitch.

The Super Eagles defender has made 85 appearances in all competitions for the Tricky Trees and remains a key figure in the dressing room. He also signed a contract extension in 2025, potentially keeping him at Forest until 2028.

Speaking in an interview, Hutchinson admitted that settling into life at Forest was not easy but revealed that Aina was one of the players who helped him through the difficult period, hailing the Nigerian international for bringing a positive atmosphere to the squad.

“Ola Aina is the closest to a mentor… but there are a few boys who will tell you if you are not doing well. They will put an arm around you”, the former Chelsea forward said via The Athletic.

“It’s a very together squad. It’s a big family. You can feel that in the camp. The team set the bar when they finished seventh just over a year ago. That is exactly the kind of thing we are trying to achieve again.

“There should be no boundaries… we have to be ambitious. We can get top 10, we can get top four… we just have to believe we can do better, because we can”, he concluded.

Hutchinson and Ola Aina will now be hoping to play an even bigger role under Nottingham Forest’s new head coach, Oliver Glasner, who replaced Pereira earlier this summer.

The former Crystal Palace boss will be looking to build on the club’s recent progress, while both players will be eager to impress under the Austrian manager.

Nottingham Forest will begin their 2026-27 Premier League campaign against Leeds United at the City Ground on August 22.

Ayomide Oguntimehin

Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.

Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master’s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin