Ola Aina: I grabbed chance to switch from England to Nigeria with both hands

Ola Aina says he joined the Super Eagles because playing for the team was “too appealing”.

Aina, who is currently on-loan at Hull City from Chelsea FC, had represented England at the U16, U17, U18, U19 and U20 levels.

He was called up to the Super Eagles for the World Cup double-header against Cameroon but only featured in the second leg as a result of a delay in his paper work.

In an interview with Complete Sports, Aina said he does not regret opting to play for Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a great country and the lure of playing for the Super Eagles was too appealing to turn down,” he said.

“Of course, at the time I couldn’t play for England for reasons I didn’t know so when the opportunity came to switch to Nigeria I grabbed it with both hands and though it’s still early days yet but I’m enjoying myself here and I hope to be with the Nigerian team for a long while to come.

“The players have shown me love. Everyone has been especially kind to me since I joined up that it’s hard to believe that I’ve not known them all my life.”

On his aspirations for the team, the player said his main target “for now” is to play at the World Cup with Nigeria.

“That is a target that we are on the verge of achieving, thanks largely to the efforts of the guys who started this journey from match day 1 and we just have to hold on and make it a dream come true,” he said.

“Playing in the World Cup is the peak of any player’s career. After that we can talk about the African Nations Cup and all the other competitions Nigeria qualify for.

“For me, I want to do well and win things both with club and country.”