Ex-Rangers star 'recommends' Hearts ace Aaron Hickey to Steven Gerrard

The 17-year-old has been one of the club’s better performers this season

Aaron Hickey is one of the few Hearts players to have emerged from this season with pass marks.

The 17-year-old has developed into a key player for the club since playing the final three games of the 2018/2019 campaign, which culminated in a starring role in the Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic where he faced James Forrest aged just 16.

Hickey had made 30 appearances this term before the postponement, playing in a variety of positions. As well as his left-back slot, he turned out at wing-back, right-back and centre-back.

Aaron Hickey is the player former Rangers midfielder Alex Rae would recommend to Rangers. Picture: SNS

During the season there was even a surprise link with Italian giants AC Milan, while Manchester City are reported to be keen on the player.

Ex-Rangers midfielder Alex Rae would like to see his former club make a move for the defender.

He pinpointed the teenager as the player in Scotland he would recommend to Steven Gerrard.

Rae was taking part in a Q&A with the club’s youth development Twitter account and was asked if he was a scout, which one player in the country would he recommend to the Rangers boss.

“I’d say the lad Aaron Hickey at Hearts has a bright future,” he said.

“He looks to bomb forward when possible and does well defensively and the early signs are he will kick on.”

Hickey is contracted to Hearts until 2021 and is one of the young players Daniel Stendel would like to build his side around providing the German continues as manager for next season.

He said of his plan: “The idea that we have is to keep the young players at the club and develop the team with some experienced players like Liam Boyce, Michael Smith and Steven Naismith.

“There are so many more young players that we can develop a new team with a new structure. For this, we have some really good young players. Yes, they need to improve, but they also need the chance to play.”