Hickey set for Bayern VIP tour
GERMAN giants Bayern Munich are set to hand Hearts left-back Aaron Hickey a VIP tour of their facilities. The 18-year-old is at the heart of a transfer tug-of-war as he enters the final year of his Tynecastle contract. Serie A side Bologna have already outlined their plans to develop the full-back’s career. As Sportsmail revealed in June, however, Bundesliga champions Bayern are also keen. And Scotland Under-19 international Hickey is now set to take up an invitation to fly to Bavaria to see the set-up for
himself this weekend. Aston Villa and Celtic also retain an interest and, while Hearts have yet to receive a formal offer for the coveted teenager, Bologna’s recruitment policy technical director Walter Sabatini hinted at a move for Hickey when he said: ‘It’s no secret we are looking for a full-back and a centre midfielder. The team needs to be reinforced. ‘From an economic point of view, we feel there is better value in the market outside Italy. ‘If you want a tip about our next signing, I can tell you he will be a young player from abroad. ‘We want a player who is comfortable attacking and is also a goal threat. We have improved and expanded our level of scouting and are looking at different markets. ‘Our aim is to keep our best players and expand the squad with good young players for next season.’ Hickey also features on a list of options for Aston Villa after they survived the drop from the English Premier League. And last night former Hearts boss Craig Levein claimed Celtic tried to buy Hickey ‘five or six times’. ‘Celtic tried to buy him back half-a-dozen times and that just got knocked back,’ Levein told BBC Radio Scotland. ‘Celtic tried to buy him back while he was in the first team, I think it was five or six times.’ Levein, who was also Hearts’ director of football, added: ‘He’s got really good defensive qualities. He likes defending, which is a rare thing these days. ‘He might end up going back into the midfield area. I think he’d be a fantastic holding midfielder with his great awareness of danger and his ability to get out of tight situations with the ball at his feet.’