By This is a guest post, written by Gogs, who is a part of the «The Boys In Maroon» podcast. It was written a day before Bologna announced the signing of the Scottish defender.
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Aaron Hickey – What are Bologna getting?
Bologna are in the final stages of securing young Scottish defender Aaron Hickey from Heart of Midlothian FC for a fee reported to be in the region of €2m. Hickey has been training with his new teammates whilst the deal is finalised and we believe he will receive squad number 3 for the 2020-21 season. Aaron made his debut in the final league match of 2018-19 at Celtic and did so well that he was selected for the Scottish Cup Final the following week at the age of just 16. Unfortunately Hearts lost that match 2-1 but Hickey was outstanding in keeping Celtic’s dangerous James Forrest under control.
Aaron established himself as first choice left back last season and proved to be a shining light in a very disappointing season for his former club. Due to their points per game average Heart of Midlothian were controversially demoted following the early conclusion of 2019-20 due to Covid-19. The important thing for Bologna fans to remember is that Serie A is an massive step up in class from the Scottish Premiership and although Aaron’s teammates from the Hearts academy describe him as unflappable, the youngster alluded to facing worldwide household names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo as “crazy” in a recent interview at Glasgow Airport. Equally as important is that fans are not to expect an Andy Robertson or a Kieran Tierney. Although he predominantly plays on the same position as the aforementioned Scotland international players, Aaron is a different type of player altogether. For a start, unlike the Liverpool and Arsenal stars he is very two footed. Don’t expect to see marauding runs up the left wing although he is not slow to support his attackers. He is every bit as likely to come inside and try to create using his right foot. He is extremely comfortable on the ball and is happy to take the ball in tight situations to the extent that his former manager Craig Levein believes Aaron has the ability to be an outstanding midfield player. An opinion shared by youth coaches who brought him through at Hearts. Aaron made a couple of appearances in central defence last season as Hearts struggled with injuries and it became clear very quickly that his ability to read a game at 17 years old was phenomenal.
Hearts fans will always remember Aaron fondly for his winning goal in the Edinburgh derby match in September 2019 and will wish him all the very best in Italy at a club which older Hearts fans will recall from 1990 as Bologna prevailed 4-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup 2nd round. Buona fortuna per il 2020-21, Bologna e Aaron.
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PHOTO: Bologna FC
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