Brentford have secured their first signing of the summer transfer window – and he’s certainly got an interesting CV.
Aaron Hickey, who has signed for the Bees on a four-year contract, has made the switch from Serie A side Bologna to west London for an initial fee of £14m, breaking the previous club record.
Aaron Hickey is a Bee#WelcomeHickey pic.twitter.com/3ILvYQttfz
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) July 9, 2022
Thomas Frank has made his first signing of the summer windowBrentford FC
Born in Glasgow, the 20-year-old left-back went through the youth ranks at Celtic and Hearts. He started his senior career at the latter, before moving to Italy in 2020.
Hickey went on to become a key component in Bologna’s side, making 36 appearances in Serie A last season and netting five times and bagging one assist along the way.
This led to him being called up to the Scottish national team in March this year, and he has since gone on to play in four games for his country.
But Hickey has got a lot more to his background than that – and his career so far becomes even more impressive when you consider he was still a teenager last month.
The youngster was attracting attention from some of football’s best-known clubs before his move to the continent, including the likes of Bayern Munich and Aston Villa.
Another club that had Hickey had caught the eye of, though, was his former team, Celtic.
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Aaron Hickey, right, has been attracting interest from some of the big boys since he was a teenager at Heartsgetty images 
And has gone from strength to strength at BolognaGetty
The Scot had left Celtic to return to Hearts following a four year stint in the Hoops’ youth system in 2018. However, two years on from his move, Celtic had some regrets.
So much so, they made multiple attempts to bring him back to Celtic Park in the two years he’d been away.
“Celtic tried to buy him back half-a-dozen times and that just got knocked back,” former Hearts boss Craig Levein revealed.
“Celtic tried to buy him back while he was in the first team, I think it was five or six times.”
| UFFICIALE!
Aaron Hickey è un nuovo giocatore del Bologna
𝗛𝗘’𝗦 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘’𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟
#WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/UKXAa4gd9m
— Bologna Fc 1909 (@BfcOfficialPage) September 24, 2020
Bologna, on the other hand, were clearly over the moon when they signed Hickey for £1.5m, giving him an over the top, slightly bizarre announcement on social media, comparing him to the Loch Ness Monster.
It’s no wonder the Hoops regretted letting Hickey go, given he went on to get nominated for the Golden Boy award in 2021.
He’s also been compared to his fellow countryman, Liverpool star Andy Robertson, during his time in Italy.
Back in 2020, Bologna fans took to social media to taunt Liverpool following Robertson’s mistake in his side’s shock 7-2 loss against Villa, bigging up their new Scottish left-back.
Hickey has been compared to his country’s captainGETTY
However, Hickey stated he thought it was too bold to compare himself to the Reds’ star.
“I have a bit to go before getting near what he’s done,” he said.
“I will be pleased if I get anywhere near that – he is a really good player.”
Hickey may not have thought he was quite up to Robertson’s standards back in 2020.
But two years on, he’s now going to be playing in the same league as the Reds star.
And the Bees will certainly be hoping he has blossomed into the Premier League calibre left-back they need to secure a third campaign in the top flight.
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