Hearts ace Aaron Hickey tipped to follow in footsteps of Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney - Chelsea advised to buy him

Sky Sports pundit Andy Walker believes he will star in the Premier League

Hearts teenage star Aaron Hickey can follow in the footsteps of Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney to star in the Premier League.

That’s the view of former Hibs and Celtic player Andy Walker and current Sky Sports pundit.

Hickey has been linked with a move to a number of Europe’s elite, including Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Chelsea. There has also been reported interest from Lazio, Celtic and Crystal Palace.

Aaron Hickey has been tipped to star in the Premier League. Picture: SNS

Walker, writing in his Sky Sports column, has encouraged Chelsea to snap him up such is his talent and promise.

Hickey, who has been nominated for the Scottish Football Writers Young Player of the Year award, has less than a year left to run on his current Hearts contract.

“There's no doubt in my mind that, in time, Hickey could follow the example of Liverpool's Andrew Robertson or Arsenal's Kieran Tierney and adjust from playing in the Scottish Premiership to thriving in the more demanding English Premier League.

“Given that he would be a very cheap option, in my view it would be worth it for Chelsea to take Hickey now and school him in their coaching system. Chelsea will of course realise there are a few gems to be found in Scotland having signed Billy Gilmour from Rangers for no more than a development fee for the Ibrox club.

“As things stand, Hickey is all potential. But, like Gilmour at a young age, Hickey will have exciting choices to make soon.”

‘Sellable asset’

Walker, who also suggested moving back to Celtic before making the step to England, queried Hearts for not tying him down to a longer contract when he broke through at the end of the 2018/19 season, starring in the Scottish Cup final.

He said: “In all honesty, I'm struggling to understand why Hearts have misread this so badly. How they did not recognise Hickey would become their most sellable asset a year ago is beyond me!”

He added: “As a left-back, I was immediately struck by how comfortable he was when cutting infield and drilling a cross-field pass to a team-mate with this right foot. The following week, manager Craig Levein had enough faith in him to give him a starting slot against Celtic in the cauldron of a national cup final. Again, he showed he could handle a big occasion.

“Surely that was the time to extend his contract?”