Chelsea starlet Ola Aina has made a solid impression away on loan at Torino, so much so that the Serie A side reportedly want to sign him permanently.

According to a report from the Daily Mirror, Serie A outfit Torino are set to to take up the £9 million option to make Chelsea full-back Ola Aina’s loan deal into a permanent one.

The 22-year-old London-born Nigerian international has been with the Chelsea since 2013 and having come through the youth ranks at the club, he made his first-team debut in an EFL Cup tie against Bristol Rovers in August 2016, under then manager Antonio Conte. Two months later Aina made his Premier League bow as well and featured six times in total in all competitions in his debut senior season.

The subsequent campaign saw Aina sent out on loan to EFL Championship outfit Hull City, where he missed only two of the 46 league games over the course of the season, assisting three goals in the process.

Back at Chelsea once his loan with the Tigers expired, the 22-year-old was once again sent out to Torino, with first-team chances bleak given that Cesar Azpilicueta, Davide Zappacosta and Victor Moses were all ahead of him in the pecking order for the right-back slot.

Since moving to Italy, the seven-time capped Nigerian international has featured in 20 Serie A matches for the club. Aina scored his first goal for Torino this past weekend, firing them to a 1-0 win over Udinese, while he also has a solitary assist against his name.

Playing as a wing-back on the right-hand side, the 22-year-old has done well going forward as well as with the defensive side of things, although the numbers don’t really indicate that. And his performances this season have prompted Torino to consider making the transfer permanent. In order to do so, the Serie A side will have to shell out £9 million to Chelsea, the report from Mirror adds.

Permanent move to Torino on the cards for Aina? (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Permanent move to Torino on the cards for Aina? (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Aina has a contract with Chelsea that expires in the summer of 2021. However, it is quite evident that the full-back has very little prospects of making the grade to the Blues’ first-team, having managed only six senior appearances since making his debut.

Add to that, reports earlier this month have claimed that the West London outfit are monitoring Crystal Palace full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. And should they be successful in their endeavour to land the Eagles’ starlet, Aina will only slip further down the pecking order at Chelsea.

All in all, a permanent transfer to Torino makes sense for all parties involved. It remains to be seen, however, if the Serie A side decide to trigger the option to make the Nigerian’s transfer permanent.

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