Stephen McGowan of the Scottish Daily Mail has claimed on Twitter that Rangers linked teenager Aaron Hickey wants to move to Bologna rather than Bayern Munich in a deal worth £1.3m.
The full-back made his Hearts debut during the 2018/19 season against Aberdeen as a 16-year-old and two weeks later became the youngest player to feature in a Scottish Cup final since ex-Gers star John Fleck in 2008.
He went on to cement a spot in the Jambos first-team during their horror 2019/20 campaign and Rangers were linked with a future £2m swoop back in October 2019 [Scottish Sun].
Earlier this summer, the Daily Record suggested that the Gers had an ongoing interest in the teenager, but recently, the three most heavily linked clubs have been Celtic, Bayern Munich and Bologna.
Now, Stephen McGowan of the Scottish Daily Mail has claimed on Twitter that Hickey has chosen Bologna over the Hoops and the Champions League winners after he flew out to assess their facilities.
https://twitter.com/mcgowan_stephen/status/1298383307567181825
It’s suggested that a fee of £1.3m would be enough to secure his services.
Rangers linked Hickey wants to snub Bayern Munich and move to Bologna – Verdict
It was no great surprise that both Old Firm clubs were linked with Hickey after he burst onto the scene at Hearts.
Yet, it always seemed unlikely that the Gers would be willing to part with a substantial sum for a young player who is still far from the finished article.
Hickey has potential but still has some filling out to do and after forming part of a leaky Hearts defence last season, there’s no way he could be viewed as an improvement on either James Tavernier or Borna Barisic.
He’s clearly done enough to impress teams on the continent, though, and it’s interesting that he looks set to turn down Champions League winners Bayern.
Perhaps the young Glaswegian can see a more realistic pathway to first-team football with mid-sized Serie A club Bologna, where there aren’t as many world-class full-backs for competition.
