Former Palace manager Oliver Glasner to coach Aina and Awoniyi at Nottingham Forest

SUPER Eagles duo Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi will be managed by former Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner after the Austrian coach signed a three year deal with Nottingham Forest committing him to the Midlands club until the end of the 2028/29 season.

Glasner, 51, won the John Duncan Award last season after leading Crystal Palace to their first ever major trophy when they lifted the Uefa Conference League, beating Spanish side Rayo Vallecano in the final on May 27. He announced that he would be leaving Palace after over two years in charge, apparently in protest of their transfer policy.

While at Palace, Glasner fell out with Nigerian loanee Christantus Uche, who joined the Eagles on a season-long loan from Spanish side Getafe. Playmaker Uche was expected to set Palace alight with dazzling displays and then elicit a formal transfer but he saw very little action under Glasner, although whenever he did see action, he actually played well.

Aina, 29 and Awoniyi, 28, are both approaching the twilight of their careers, so will be hoping to see regular playing time under Glasner. In Awoniyi's case, he only has one year left on his contract and with the club not showing any signs of extending it, there is speculation that he might be leaving Forest this summer.

In Aina's case, his contract with Forest runs until the summer of 2028 and apart from of late when he picked up a nasty hamstring injury, he has generally been a regular starter at the City Ground. Glasner, who also won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, is set to become the highest paid manager in Forest's history and one of the highest-paid in the Premier League.

Last season, Nottingham Forest began their campaign under Nuno Espírito Santo but dismissed the Portuguese manager in September, replacing him with Ange Postecoglou, whose reign lasted just 39 days before Sean Dyche took charge on October.  Then, Dyche was dismissed in February and succeeded by Vitor Pereira, who was then relieved of his duties at the end of the season.

Neither Aina or Awoniyi were included in the Super Eagles squads for the Unity Cup or the June friendlies against Poland and Portugal. This means that they are not entitled to additional time off and are expected to report for the start of pre-season training expected to resume immediately after the World Cup.

While managing Palace, Glasner coached top notch talents like Ebere Eze and Michael Olise, both of whom Nigeria was desperately in pursuit of at the time. Unfortunately, they both chose to play for England and France respectively, shunning the opportunity of featuring for the Super Eagles.