It is safe to say the arrival of Ivan Juric at Torino has given Ola Aina a new lease on life in Italy. The Nigeria international, now in his third season at Torino, has been a near ever-present for the Granata so far this season, only missing out on the Matchday 6 trip to Venezia (when he was granted special dispensation for a personal matter), and has been one of the strongest performers for the Croatian manager.
It represents a drastic departure from the summer of 2020 when Torino considered Aina expendable enough to transfer him on loan to Fulham. The Cottagers were ultimately relegated, casting further doubt on the future of the Chelsea youth product.
However, Juric immediately took a shine to the 25-year-old upon arrival from Hellas Verona this past summer and installed him as a lynchpin in his preferred 3-4-3 system. Of Torino’s 13 Serie A matches before Sunday’s trip to Roma, Aina has started 10 and come off the bench in two.
While his versatility has always been an asset, for the most part, this term Aina has played as a left wing-back, occasionally time-sharing with experienced Argentine Cristian Ansaldi. He has recorded neither a goal nor an assist in league play, but Juric has left no doubt as to which of the two is his preferred candidate for the role; the Nigerian’s athleticism, technical security, and ability to progress the ball giving him the edge, despite his rival’s better headline numbers (three assists).
Last weekend’s victory over Udinese however marked a departure from Juric. Against the Zebrette, Aina started on the other side of the pitch, giving a break to regular right-back Wilfried Singo. In his usual place on the left, in came Kosovar Mergim Vojvoda, nominally a right-back.
Without necessarily being eye-catching, Vojvoda delivered a strong performance on the day and sent a clear message to the bench in the aftermath. “I don’t care to play on the right or left,” he said to DAZN. “It’s enough for me to play, I’m a soldier, I do what I’m told.
“It’s clear that I like more to stay on the right but on the left, I also played in the national team so I know what to do.”
Just like that, competition for places just got a little tougher for Aina.
Vojvoda, who has been at Torino since signing from Standard Liege in 2020, maybe the latest beneficiary of Juric’s rehabilitative powers. The 26-year-old only started 17 of Torino’s 38 league matches last term, but all of them came on the right, and so far this season he had been reduced to bit-part briefs, often coming off the bench late on in matches.
The timing of his first start, coming as it did with Ansaldi not yet back in training and being that he was stationed on the left instead of his more natural position on the right, could be interpreted in different ways depending on perspective. However, what cannot be denied is that, by virtue of his showing against Udinese, he has very much thrown the gauntlet down.
READ ALSO: Taliban government moves to prohibit female actors from TVs in Afghanistan
The manager declared himself pleased with Vojvoda’s performance and show of character, stating, “I liked him. He’s a guy who has not played much but has never performed badly in training.
“It’s not easy to play so little and still make no mistakes for 90 minutes. Even on the left, he did well. I was very satisfied; it’s an option for the future considering that Ansaldi is struggling to recover.”
It was a concerning comment, as the 46-year-old has made no secret of the need for Aina’s numerical output to improve. “Statistically, in all my teams, the wing-backs have always scored four or five goals, because they arrive to finish the actions in the penalty area,” he said before the defeat to Spezia the other side of the international break. For all the Nigerian’s good work in the build-up and his running, and for all that Juric likes him, his lack of direct impact could ultimately make his position (as well as the manager’s) tenuous.
For the trip to the Stadio Olimpico this weekend, it is expected that Singo will return and reclaim his spot on the right. On the left, however, suddenly Juric has a decision to make.
