Imminent Bologna signing Aaron Hickey has touched on why he decided to move abroad amid speculation that linked him with a move to Parkhead.
Celtic were continuously mentioned as a potential destination for the departing Hearts starlet this summer. Reliable Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio stated last month that the Hoops were “really pushing for the player”. The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath then tweeted just over two weeks ago that Celtic had won the race for him.
However, in the end, the left-back has ended up signing for Bologna in a deal worth a reported £1.5million (Scottish Sun). It’s still unclear as to whether there was even an offer on the table for a move to Parkhead.
But regardless, Hickey has been speaking to the BBC about why he chose to move abroad. Here’s what he had to say:
“Bologna has a family feel to it, so I feel I’ve made the right decision. It just made me feel really comfortable, and had a nice feel to it – just really friendly. It’s the closest I’ll probably get to first-team football out of the teams I’ve been to. It’s a dream come true.
“It’s one of the top leagues in the world. Playing against [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Paulo] Dybala, it’s going to be crazy for me – if I get the chance.
“Ibrahimovic has been playing since I was a wee guy so it’s massive for me. Going from my primary school playground to San Siro would just be amazing. I’ll go over and train my hardest, and do whatever I can to break through to the first team.”
Big-name opposition appears to have driven Hickey’s decision
The opportunity to move to Bologna is certainly a unique one for a young Scottish footballer, especially one with Hickey’s inexperience.
It’s a real shot in the arm for him that a club from Serie A believes that he can be a top player for them one day, even if he’ll eventually have to start as a back-up.
From a Celtic perspective, there’s a bit of a shrug of the shoulders feel to this one. It’s hardly heartbreaking that we’ve either missed out on him or decided not to pursue him. He’s a player with plenty of potential, but he was nowhere near ready to be thrown into the Celtic side.
Funnily enough, Hickey’s natural position is also the same area of the pitch we desperately need to strengthen in. However, signing players is a lot different from genuinely strengthening your squad. Hickey’s arrival wouldn’t have pushed up the quality of player we would have playing at left-back.
For now, we move on and wish Hickey well. Who knows? The player may end up back at Parkhead one day after being on the academy’s books as a youngster.
However, have we truly missed out here? It’ll be a long time before that theory will become convincing.
In other news, an Aberdeen director has provided some promising news for Celtic and Dons fans.
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