Scotland international Aaron Hickey joins Brentford from Bologna | OneFootball

Brentford have captured the signature of 20-year-old left-back Aaron Hickey from Serie A side Bologna for a fee said to be in the region on £14m plus add-ons.

He has signed a four-year contract

“I am very pleased that we have managed to sign Aaron,” Bees boss Thomas Frank told the club’s official website.

“What he has already achieved in his career is very impressive. He is only 20 and has played a full season in Scotland as well as almost two seasons in Serie A.

“We think that Aaron is a player with great potential, who already has an impressive number of games at a good level under his belt. We believe that we have proven we are a good club for players to maximise their potential. We think we can help him be even better.

“Aaron is a rare thing in modern football in that he is equally good with both feet. 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. There are areas to improve and we are looking forward to having him with us so we can be part of his development as a player.”

The Hearts youth product made the move to Italy in 2020 for around £1.5m.

Since then, he became a first-team regular at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara and his performances earned him his Scotland debut in March this year.

Last season, Hickey became the youngest defender to make more than 35 appearances in Europe’s top five leagues and contributed five goals and an assist to the Bologna attack.