Long jumper turned full-time footballer, Aina reveals he still supports Chelsea five years after departure

Super Eagles right-back Ola Aina has revealed that he still loves Chelsea despite being unable to feature regularly for the club before his permanent departure five years ago.

The 27-year-old started his career in the famous Cobham Academy and featured prominently for the Blues' U18s,U19s and U21s before graduating to the first team.

He was part of the FA Youth Cup winning team that won the competition in back-to-back seasons and also won the UEFA Youth League twice as well as the U21 Premier League on one occasion.

He made his professional debut in 2016 against Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup which is now known as the Carabao Cup and went on to make five other appearances.

Due to lack of regular playing time, he left on loan to Hull City in 2017 before making another temporary move to Torino and he eventually joined the Italian outfit permanently in 2019.

Speaking to The Guardian UK in a recent interview, Aina revealed that he still loves Chelsea and believes the club will soon overcome its recent turmoil.

"I like playing against Chelsea and I still support them after being there for so many years. Everyone has got their opinions about how things are going for them but this is a new era and it's not always easy to maintain that level of success."

Before becoming a full-time footballer, Aina had been a long jumper and a good one at that, having won a gold medal while representing Essex in the long jump in 2011.

The records indicate that Aina leaped 6.54 meters in 2011 - the sixth-best performance in the history of English schools at that time.

"Football has always been the No 1 thing for me but I’ve always loved playing different sports. I used to play rugby at school, mainly on the wing but I also tried inside-centre.

"I also used to do long jump at school and represented Essex in the English schools. I think I won a few times," Aina said.

Aina will have to put his affection aside when Nottingham Forest face the two-time European champions later today in the penultimate matchday in the Premier League at the City Ground.

Forest sit just three points adrift of a place in the relegation zone and must avoid a defeat against Mauricio Pochettino's side to boost their hope of maintaining their top-flight status.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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