Chelsea defender Ola Aina is set to join Serie A outfit Torino after the club exercised the option to turn his loan deal into a permanent one.
According to Torino president Urbano Cairo, the young full-back will reportedly move to Italy for a transfer fee of £8.9 million this summer.
Who is Ola Aina? Five things to know…
Age: 22
Position: Defender
Torino stats: Aina made 32 appearances for the Italian club on loan in the 2018/19 season.
Aina had extended his contract at Chelsea at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Torino finished seventh in the Serie A table this season, narrowly missing out on Europa League football.
His 32 appearances for Torino clearly convinced those in charge at the Italian club to bring the Nigeria international – who is also capped for England at youth level – in on a permanent basis.
He provided three assists – the last coming on the final day defeat of Lazio – and finished the season with just a single goal to his name, the match-winner against Udinese in February.
Confirming Torino’s intentions with the Chelsea youth player, Cairo revealed the club now own all players on the company payroll.
Speaking to reporters, Cairo said “We exercised our option to buy Ola Aina, as well as [Christian] Ansaldi and [Koffi] Djidji.
“Now Torino own all their players.”
As quoted above, Aina’s arrival would make him Torino’s third permanent signing of the summer so far, with Christian Ansaldi and Koffi Djidji opting to join the club ahead of next season.
Aina first tasted first-team football with Chelsea in 2016 when the west London club faced Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup. The youngster found great success in the Chelsea youth ranks, where he won two Uefa Youth Leagues and two FA Youth Cups before reportedly making his switch to Italy.
Chelsea confirm departure
Further to Cairo’s comments, Chelsea also confirmed the permanent departure, which represents yet another of their academy graduates failing to make the grade at Stamford Bridge.
Alongside Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard, Kylian Hazard and Fankaty Dabo, Aina is Chelsea’s fifth departure of the summer so far.
A statement on the club’s official website read: “Ola Aina is to complete a permanent transfer to Serie A side Torino.
“The defender made six appearances for the Blues during the 2016/17 campaign. He joined the club as an Under-11 and progressed through our Academy where he won multiple honours. The 22-year-old will now move to Torino who have exercised an option to make the deal permanent after he spent a successful season on loan there in 2018/19. He made 32 appearances and scored once.
“Everyone at Chelsea Football Club would like to thank Ola for his services and we wish him the best of luck for the next stage in his career.”
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