Rangers reportedly want to raid Scottish Premiership rivals Hearts for Aaron Hickey – who also has admirers at Premier League champions Manchester City.
Ross Wilson arrives at Rangers not as the golden boy of the transfer market but as a man whose ability to unearth gems and spot value has come under question after a couple of high-profile flops at Southampton.
As any Saints fan will be itching to tell you, the likes of Mario Lemina, Wesley Hoedt and Mohamed Elyounoussi all failed to live up to their substantial price tags at St Mary’s while £19 million record signing Guido Carrillo didn’t even score a goal for the South Coast club before being farmed out on loan.
With Rangers desperate to overhaul Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after eight miserable years on the blue half of Glasgow, Wilson cannot afford to waste time, or money, on ill-fitting players in new surroundings.
His appointment might be seen as a coup in some quarters but, for the more sceptical Rangers supporters, the jury will remain out until after the January transfer window at the earliest.
But if Wilson wants to prove his ability to identify future stars and make Rangers a chosen destination for some of Britain’s brightest talents, beating none other than Manchester City and Pep Guardiola to teenage left-back Aaron Hickey would be a decent way to make a good first impression.
According to the Scottish Sun, the Premier League champions are very interested in a one-time Celtic youngster who became a Hearts hero recently thanks to his dramatic winner in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian.
But the Sun claims that Wilson is desperate to lure the £2 million-rated Hickey to Ibrox with the newly-hired DOF expected to push Steven Gerrard in the direction of a full-back who has really caught the eye ever since he started a Scottish Cup final at the age of just 16.
If Hickey wants to play regular first-team football straight away and avoid the fate that has befallen Patrick Roberts, Aleix Garcia and yes even Phil Foden, then he should choose Rangers. Maybe that’s how Wilson should start his pitch.
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