BRENTFORD have signed Scotland defender Aaron Hickey from Bologna for an undisclosed fee, with the total package believed to be worth in the region of £18millon.
The 20-year-old, capped four times by Steve Clarke for Scotland, has agreed a four-year contract with the Premier League outfit.
“He is only 20 and has played a full season in Scotland as well as almost two seasons in Serie A," Brentford boss Thomas Frank told the club's website.
“We think that Aaron is a player with great potential, who already has an impressive number of games at a good level under his belt.
✍ Aaron Hickey is a Bee#WelcomeHickey pic.twitter.com/3ILvYQttfz
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) July 9, 2022
“We believe that we have proven we are a good club for players to maximise their potential. We think we can help him be even better.”
Hickey made his senior debut for Scotland in a 1-1 friendly draw against Poland in March and played the full 90 minutes in last month’s World Cup play-off defeat to Ukraine.
The Glasgow-born full-back started out in Celtic’s academy before turning professional with Hearts, for whom he made his Scottish Premiership debut aged 16.
At 18, he moved to Bologna after one full season in the first team at Tynecastle, and was a regular for the Serie A side last season, making 36 league appearances.
Hearts are believed to have included a sell-on clause as part of the deal to sell Hickey to Bologna and so are due a cut of the fee. Sky Sports report that Brentford have paid £14m up front for the full-back, with a further £4m's available in peformance-related add-ons.
