Former Hearts defender and Celtic academy prospect Aaron Hickey has opened up on his move to Serie A side, Bologna stating he gave the decision ‘a lot of thought’ with the Hoops also chasing the young left-backs signature.

During the summer of 2020, clubs such as Celtic and Bayern Munich were mentioned as possible destinations for the younger. But, in the end, he opted for a move to the Serie A with Bologna.

The Scotland u21 internationalist has since gone on to earn around 29 appearances in Italy with his current side. However, things could have been very different for Hickey had he chosen to make a move elsewhere.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Hickey has recently opened up on the choice he made during that summer window, as he revealed what was going through his mind, considering to stay in Scotland and making a move to Parkhead.

“I’d been at Celtic as a young player,” he said, as quoted by the Daily Record

“so I knew the club inside out and going there meant I could stay at home with my family.

“Bayern (Munich) couldn’t have treated me any better – they invited me over for a look around, and their facility was incredible.

“I’d never seen anything like it.

“It would have been easy to sign for them, as everything was so impressive, but Bologna made an impression on me.

“They made me feel wanted and said there was a route to the first-team with them.

“Sometimes players can be promised all sorts of things, but they’ve lived up to everything they said, right down to easing me into things to start with, then getting more minutes this season.

“I’m pleased with the decision I made to give it a go.”

From a Scotland perspective, it is always interesting to see how players from our nation do in countries across Europe. Another example of this in Italy is Liam Henderson, who still plays his football there with Empoli.

However, it would have also been intriguing to see, had Hickey joined the club in that summer, if he could have possibly been a fix for the left-back position.

It hasn’t been the ideal season so far in that area of the pitch, with several players taking their turn under Ange Postecoglou in different spells.

Ultimately, Hickey sounds like his short-term aim is to remain in Italy and continue his improvement there. So, it looks like the chance of him moving to Parkhead could be all but over, at least for the next few years.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.