Aina backs Fernandez for Premier League move

Super Eagles defender Emmanuel Fernandez. Photo: Eagles

Super Eagles defender, Ola Aina, has tipped his Nigerian teammate, Emmanuel Fernandez, to succeed in the Premier League, pointing to the Rangers centre-back’s two-footedness and calm temperament as qualities that could ease a future move to England’s top flight, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nottingham Forest player made the comments in a Snapchat exchange with the 25-year-old, urging his followers to take note of the defender.

“You lot need to know about this guy. Top, top player, right and left foot, he is top, and he has got a level head,” Aina said.

Fernandez, who was alongside Aina at the time, responded when his international teammate floated the idea of a Premier League switch.

“Premier League soon?” Aina asked. “Amen,” Fernandez replied.

The exchange comes on the back of a rapid rise for the defender.

Fernandez joined Rangers from Peterborough United in 2025 and enjoyed an outstanding debut season in Scotland, winning the club’s Player of The Year award and earning a place in the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of The Year. His start to the current campaign has been less smooth, with early performances drawing criticism, though his form has since improved alongside centre-back partner, Olwethu Makhanya.

Aina’s first point centred on Fernandez’s comfort on both feet, a trait he showcased during his first Super Eagles start, against Jordan in March, when he controlled a cross from Bright Osayi-Samuel before switching onto his left foot to score Nigeria’s second goal. That versatility, pundits believe, can make a defender harder to press, particularly in a league such as the Premier League, where forwards close down opponents quickly and offer little time on the ball. Fernandez also spent part of his early career as a midfielder before settling into central defence, a background that has shaped his comfort carrying the ball out from the back.

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Fernandez has already had to handle pressure at Rangers, including after errors against Falkirk and St Mirren earlier this season, and he was booked inside four minutes during an Old Firm derby at Celtic Park, yet played through the rest of the match without further incident.

“It is a lot of pressure playing for a team like Glasgow Rangers, but it is enjoyable,” Fernandez told Football Fans Tribe.

“I feel like there will be moments in the season where you are under a bit of pressure, but that is where you show how good you are, and that you can get through it, that is how you get through it as a player.”

Fernandez’s route to prominence has been unconventional, progressing through Brentford’s academy and non-league football before spells at Peterborough United and Rangers, and now the Super Eagles.

A move to the Premier League would mark a further step up, and Aina’s public endorsement adds to the growing attention on a player who, until two years ago, was playing outside the professional game’s top tiers in England.