Foreign media go crazy over £8m Nottingham Forest star as he plays 'out of position' on international duty

03/26/2025 08:00 AM

Nottingham Forest have had a number of players head out on international duty with varying levels of success over the past fortnight.

After a 4-2 win over Ipswich was secured, some Forest stars jetted off to different locations to represent their countries in Nations League and World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Thomas Tuchel was bashed for his treatment of Morgan Gibbs-White as he left him out of the squad against Albania and then on the bench against Latvia.

Elsewhere, Nikola Milenkovic was praised by the Serbian media for his heroics, whilst Matz Sels got the nod for Belgium ahead of Real Madrid stopper Thibaut Courtois.

Anthony Elanga scored for Sweden last night, whilst it feels like Neco Williams is very quickly becoming one of the most important players in the Wales squad.

• READ MORE: What reports are saying about Chris Wood’s injury

Nigerian media deliver verdict on Ola Aina performance

It proved a disappointing result for Nigeria in the end as they were forced to settle for a draw against lowly Zimbabwe.

Victor Osimhen scored in the 74th minute, but Tawanda Chirewa scored a late equaliser to leave the Super Eagles in serious danger of not making the 2026 World Cup.

Aina got the nod at left-back and actually assisted Osimhen for his goal with a simply sublime cross that made things easy for the talisman.

Soccer Net scored the Forest man a 7.5/10 and said: “Played out of position on the left but still impressed.

“He delivered the inch-perfect cross that Osimhen converted and defended resolutely when called upon.”

Ola Aina stats 2024/25

The Reds won’t be surprised to hear that Aina excelled on the left for Nigeria.

That’s where he spent last season playing for Forest before shifting over to right-back for the current campaign.

Aina is competent on both sides of the pitch and his pace allows him to get up and down with ease.

Manchester City are eyeing Aina and that in itself highlights exactly how good the Nigerian performer has been since coming to the City Ground.

Aina has been a revelation on a free transfer and the challenge for Forest now is to get him tied to a longer contract.