Back in the summer, Celtic made an attempt to sign Bologna wonderkid Aaron Hickey, although the Bhoys were unsuccessful.
According to Il Resto del Carlino, Celtic submitted a £3.5m bid for the 19-year-old, but Bologna swiftly rejected it and Hickey remained in Italy.
Now, Celtic are probably wishing they offered a bit more money.
What’s the story?
Well, Hickey appears to have well and truly settled into life in Serie A, as he’s in fantastic form for Bologna.
The teenager has scored two goals in seven Serie A appearances this season.
Hickey netted in a 2-2 draw against Genoa, and also scored in a 3-0 win over Lazio – he earned the WhoScored Man of the Match award in both games.
As a result of his efforts, WhoScored have actually placed him in the best eleven players across Europe’s top fives leagues for the season so far.
Hickey has earned an average rating of 8.9, which puts him in Europe’s best XI alongside Karim Benzema, Mohamed Salah and ex-Celtic defender Jeremie Frimpong.
Celtic’s Aaron Hickey regret
So far this season, Hickey has appeared at left-back and also at left-midfield, showing plenty of attacking intent for Bologna.
It’s a sore one to take for Celtic.
Just by watching the prodigy play, it seems he would’ve been tailor made for Ange Postecoglou’s attacking football.
Celtic are renowned for hoovering up the best talent in Scotland, so it’s somewhat astonishing that they let Hickey slip through the net.
If he keeps this form up, he’ll be a £15m player in no time – Celtic will be kicking themselves they didn’t offer more money.
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