Celtic to bid £3.5m for ex-Hearts youngster now a Serie A star

Aaron Hickey could return to Scotland after just one season in Serie A with Celtic reportedly ready to table a £3.5m bid for the young defender.

Fabio Quagliarella of UC Sampdoria with Aaron Hickey and Lukasz Skorupski of Bologna FC during the Serie A match between UC Sampdoria and Bologna FC at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on November 22, 2020 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Rattini/Getty Images)

Hearts sold the teenager to Bologna last Setpember after a meteoric rise for the wing-back through the Tynecastle ranks and into the first team under Craig Levein.

Around £450,000 of the £1.5m fee went to Hickey’s former club at Parkhead, where he came through the youth set-up before switching to Hearts for more game-time.

Now he could be set for a return with Ange Postecoglou said to be keen on the 19-year-old who has also been linked with Napoli in recent days.

Aaron Hickey of Bologna FC (R) competes for the ball with Gabriele Zappa of Cagliari Calcio. (Photo by Mario Carlini / Iguana Press/Getty Images)

Bologna could recoup Sinisa Mihajlovic’s transfer expenditure and a £2m profit according to local press il Resto del Carlino and The Scottish Sun.

Hickey was considered an outside chance for Steve Clarke’s Euro 2020 squad after a strong start to his Italian career, playing 12 times, but a shoulder injury cut his season short.

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