Thomas Frank has waxed lyrical over what Aaron Hickey will offer Brentford after securing a deal for the Bologna defender Arsenal were close to signing this summer, via Sky Sports.
The Bees have paid the Rossoblu an initial £14m for Hickey to head to the Premier League. He could end up costing the west London natives up to £18m should the Scotland left-back trigger all performance-related add-ons over the course of a four-year contract at the club.
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Hickey is Brentford’s first signing of the summer so far, having been on Frank’s radar since the January sales. The Bees sought to agree terms in the winter but could not convince the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara hierarchy to sell the 20-year-old who was crucial at the Serie A side.
Arsenal were also in the market to sign Hickey, but have now missed out to Brentford. The Scotsman even noted in June that Mikel Arteta was close to welcoming the four-cap talent to the Emirates Stadium. He was expected to join the Gunners in a deal worth circa-£18m.
Instead, Brentford have won the race and rewarded Bologna with a substantial profit for Hickey’s development. The Glasgow native moved to Italy in 2020 from Premiership side Hearts in a £1.5m deal. He went on to amass 48 senior games for five goals and one assist.
Frank in awe of Hickey signing as Brentford beat Arsenal to Bologna star
Hickey struck all five of his Bologna goals from a lively left-back role in Serie A last season. His efforts convinced Steve Clarke to afford the youngster his senior Scotland debut during March and his first start in the Tartan Army’s World Cup play-off defeat to Ukraine in June.
Bees boss Frank is now in awe of the defender Brentford have signed after beating Arsenal to a deal with Bologna for Hickey. He has waxed lyrical over what the former Celtic talent can offer his side and how the 6ft dynamo is unlike most others around in the game today.
“Aaron is a rare thing in modern football in that he is equally good with both feet,” Frank said. “He is technically very sound and is good when he has the ball in tight areas.
“He is an attacking full-back that has good creativity, he is a great crosser of the ball, and scored goals in Serie A last year. Having played two years in Italy, we know he will have good defensive traits.”
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