Arsenal are interested in Bologna left-back Aaron Hickey ahead of a potential move this summer, football.london understands. Mikel Arteta is on the lookout for defensive reinforcements following injury setbacks to Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Nuno Tavares has often looked shaky during his debut season.
Hickey is viewed as an ideal candidate who possesses talent and versatility. The 19-year-old old is enjoying a breakthrough campaign in the Serie A which has seen him become a crucial member of the Italian side, scoring five goals and providing one assist in the process. He can also operate at right-back and is very comfortable using both feet, which are qualities that will come in handy for Arteta as he searches for answers to his full-back dilemmas.
To gather a better understanding of the player's ability and find out exactly what he could bring to the Emirates should he join the club, I spoke to Football Transfers and GOAL writer, Robin Bairner on behalf of The Arsenal Way to get more intel.
READ MORE: Takehiro Tomiyasu set for key Arsenal transfer role as Edu looks to repeat gem Serie A signing
One of the questions I posed to Robin was about Hickey's qualities in both a defensive and attacking capacity, with the Scottish international's goal contributions clearly indicating an eagerness to get forward. However, Robin told me that Hickey has balanced out his game in recent months.
"I think initially when he went to Italy, he was a player who was maybe more recognised for his technical abilities rather than his defensive qualities as per see," Robin began. "But certainly over the last season, particularly, he's a player that if you speak to a lot of Italian journalists who watch a lot of Serie A, they've been most impressed by the fact he has improved so much defensively.
"So he's definitely capable going forward, I mentioned his goals earlier, but also he's got this ability to defend now as well which I guess has improved dramatically having been in a league that's maybe got a tactical reputation like Serie A. It's certainly part of his game that's improved."
Robin then went on to make an extremely exciting comparison as he mentioned the similarities between Hickey and a Bayern Munich legend, which is now being noticed among Serie A journalists.
"I was actually recently speaking to an Italian journalist who suggested that Hickey's possibly most similar to a sort of Philipp Lahm-style defender. Not quite at that standard yet, obviously, he's still very young. But that's the sort of model you're kind of working on.
"It's probably a good time for him (to move) because he's probably just about Serie A's best left-back at the moment which is quite a claim in itself and I think if you are working at that level, then you know it's always the time to take a step up. I mean it's a cliche; if you're good enough, you're old enough and he seems to be in that sort of position at the moment."
Bologna are said to be open to doing business if a fee in the region of €20m (£18m) comes in for Hickey, whose contract expires in 2024.
