Arsenal ‘close in’ on £18m valued Golden Boy nominee previously linked with Newcastle United and Aston Villa

Arsenal are said to be ‘closing in’ on the signing of Bologna full-back Aaron Hickey who is valued at £18m by the Serie A side.

According to various reports, including in The Scotsman, the Gunners are at the front of the queue to land the Scotland international.

Newcastle United and Aston Villa have also been linked with the former Hearts man who has recently been nominated for the prestigious ‘Golden Boy’ award.

Here is everything you need to know about the player and what has been reported regarding Arsenal’s interest:

Who is Aaron Hickey? £18m valued Bologna full back linked with Arsenal move

Aaron Hickey is an 20-year old full back who plays for Italian Serie A side Bologna.

The Glasgow native is primarily a left back or left wing back but can also play on the right and was recently deployed in that position by the Scotland men’s national team for their FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Ukraine.

Hickey represented Celtic and Heart of Midlothian as a youth player before making his senior breakthrough with the Tynecastle club at the age of just 17.

He featured in a Scottish Cup final and scored his first senior goal in a memorable 2-1 Edinburgh derby win over Hibs.

Hickey moved to Bologna in September 2020 for an undisclosed fee that is believed to be in the region of £1.5 million.

He was a regular for the Italian side last season, making 36 appearances and chipping in with five goals.

After representing Scotland at Under 17 level he notably bypassed the Under 21 squad and was thrust straight into the senior team with his first cap coming in March this year in a 1-1 friendly draw with Poland.

Hickey earned three more caps in Scotland’s recent FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off and UEFA Nations League matches.

Arsenal ‘close in’ on Hickey signing

As reported by The Scotsman, who have kept a close eye on the player’s development, Arsenal are ‘front of the queue’ to sign the former Hearts defender.

They claim that the Gunners will have to pay in the region of £18 million for the player, referencing comments from Bologna’s sporting director Marco Di Vaio who said: “(Hickey) is one of those we could sacrifice, but if we don’t receive adequate offers, he’ll likely stay for another year.

“We have a good potential to do well and earn more than 50 points. We must be good at financing new signings and finding new players.

“If we make the right moves, we’ll be able to replace them and keep all the others.”

Hickey was recently one of the 100 players nominated for the ‘Golden Boy’ award - the only Scottish player on the list and one of just five British players.

The Premier League candidates for the award are: Amad Diallo, Anthony Elanga (Man Utd), Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho (Liverpool), Fabio Silva, Ki-Jana Hoever (Wolves), Yan Couto (Man City), Joe Gelhardt (Leeds), Kacper Kozlowski (Brighton) and Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham).