Ola Aina tips Nottingham Forest for ‘next step’ Champions League push if key issues are fixed

Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina believes the club can position themselves for a future UEFA Champions League challenge if they learn from last season’s struggles and address key areas of weakness.

The Nigeria international, who featured prominently as Forest secured Premier League safety for a second successive season, was speaking in a light-hearted but revealing conversation with former Chelsea team-mate John Obi Mikel.

Aina joined Mikel on the “Obi One Podcast” to reflect on Forest’s 2023-24 campaign, during which Nuno Espirito Santo’s side finished 17th after a four-point deduction for breaching Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules.

Forest ultimately ended the season six points clear of the relegation zone, but off-the-field issues and a prolonged battle against the drop dominated much of their campaign.

Champions League ambition – with a warning

Asked by Mikel where he believed Forest could realistically aim in the near future, Aina initially hesitated before outlining his ambitions for the club.

He replied: “I have to be careful, because I represent Nottingham Forest. But if we were to solidify and just correct the places where maybe the club is falling a bit short – and this is not me talking down on my team – we can put ourselves in a position where the next step could be something like Champions League.

“Let me not talk too much,” he added, laughing, as he sought not to overstate expectations.

Aina’s remarks reflect the belief inside the camp that Forest, if stabilised, could look beyond simply fighting relegation and start targeting the upper half of the Premier League table in future seasons.

‘What we went through this season…’

The 27-year-old also gave an insight into the mood at the club during a year disrupted by disciplinary sanctions and constant scrutiny.

“A lot of things happened at the club, but everyone stuck together. It shows our togetherness as a team and as a staff. With what we went through this season, I feel like only we know what it really felt like,” he said.

Forest incurred their points deduction in March, plunging them deeper into the relegation battle and increasing pressure on Nuno after he replaced Steve Cooper in December.

Despite that setback, Forest’s squad and backroom staff kept their focus on survival, with Aina pointing to the collective mentality in the dressing room as a decisive factor.

The defender, who returned to the Premier League last summer after a spell with Torino, highlighted how unity helped them navigate the off-field distractions and secure their top-flight status.

Future hopes at the City Ground

While Aina stopped short of making specific promises about league positions or timelines, his comments underline a desire within the playing group to see Forest move into a more stable phase, both competitively and administratively.

The City Ground side have invested heavily in recent windows since returning to the Premier League in 2022, bringing in a large number of players and going through significant change in a short period.

Aina’s suggestion that Forest could eventually aim for Champions League football hinges, in his view, on the club “solidifying” and addressing the shortcomings he referenced, without him publicly airing detailed criticism.

For now, his focus remains on building on last term’s hard-fought survival, but his remarks offer a glimpse of the ambition that some within the squad hold for Forest’s long-term progression in the Premier League.