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34. OLA AINA
Defender
Born: London, England - 1008/1996
Height:
Weight:
Previous Club:
International: England U-18
Signing Date:
Chelsea Appearances
Chelsea Goals Scored
Ola made his Under-18 debut as
an Under-16 in November 2012. He impressed in his first few appearances and
earned starts in both legs of the Semi Final and Final of the 2012-13 FA
Youth Cup, despite having a number of older alternatives ahead of him in the
theoretical pecking order.
He continued to impress at right-back in the first half
of the 2013-14 season, including spending time with the Under-21 squad and
earning a professional contract upon his 17th birthday in October. The
longer the season went on the more responsibility he was given; featuring at
both full-back spots during the run to the FA Youth Cup Final and then being
given his first starts at Under-21 level against Arsenal, Manchester City
and Manchester United in a relatively unfamiliar position of centre-back. He
passed with flying colours as Chelsea won the Under-21 Premier League title.
A regular across all competitions in 2014-15, he made
his mark again as another FA Youth Cup followed, as did the 2014-15 UEFA
Youth League crown. As reward for a fine season, he joined the first team
squad on the post-season tour of Thailand and Australia.