Nottingham Forest and Super Eagles defender Ola Aina has been included in the BBC Premier League Team of the Week following his standout display against Brentford, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The selection was compiled by former Watford captain Troy Deeney, who praised Aina’s all-round performance in Forest’s 2–0 away victory in the English top flight last weekend.
Aina was instrumental at both ends of the pitch, delivering a commanding defensive display while also contributing going forward. His Nigerian teammate Taiwo Awoniyi also made the Team of the Week after scoring Nottingham Forest’s second goal in the match.
Commenting on Aina’s performance, Deeney highlighted the difficulty of the task he faced against Brentford’s wide play.
“The Brentford team he faced are well known for getting crosses in from the wide areas,” Deeney said. “I thought he defended excellently at the far post in Forest’s 2-0 win, cleared everything. He was good at dealing with how people tried to run at him. He offered a lot going forward, too.”
Also named in the Team of the Week were Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), Ian Maatsen (Aston Villa), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Jorge Cuenca (Fulham), and Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa).
Others included Ibrahim Sangaré (Nottingham Forest), Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa), Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United), Estêvão Willian (Chelsea), and Igor Jesus (Nottingham Forest).
Aina missed Nigeria’s campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco due to injury. The Super Eagles, however, went on to secure the bronze medal after defeating Egypt 4–2 on penalties following a goalless draw in regulation time.