Perhaps one of the more interesting stories of the summer, at least in the Italian media, was whether or not Aaron Hickey would sign for Bologna.
The left-back, then at Heart of Midlothian FC, was wanted by a number of clubs, with rumours even sending him to Manchester City or Celtic.
In the end, it appeared to be a battle between Bayern Munich and the Serie A side, which the Italians eventually won, spending around €2m on the 18-year-old.
Hickey almost immediately entered Sinisa Mijahlovic’s first-team, thrown in at the deep end against Parma in the second round of league fixtures, which his new club won 4-1.
Since then, he’s missed just the one game against Napoli in Serie A, making himself at home and earning the adulation of fans at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
Asked about Bayern Munich’s interest, he said: “They are a great club, but Bologna is ‘massive’, they are of a high level, I’m sure I have chosen a big club. The thing that most convinced me, when I came here to visit some time ago, is the family atmosphere I felt immediately. I immediately felt a good feeling. Did Manchester City also look for me? I would say no. Celtic? Yes”.
That means, as far as Hickey is aware, Neil Lennon’s team, who were looking for a left back (eventually landing Diego Laxalt on loan from Milan), made an attempt to sign the youngster.
Then again, was there any guarantee he would have started as much at Parkhead than he has done in Italy? Probably not.
Only time will tell if he made the right choice, but one thing appears clear: he’s happy for now.
