Hickey likely to be heading abroad with offer on the table at Tynecastle

Hearts owner Ann Budge has admitted she is bracing herself for Aaron Hickey’s exit after opening talks with a European club over the sale of the teenager.

Budge revealed the unnamed side, thought to be Italian Serie A outfit Bologna, are the only club to have submitted an official offer for the precocious left-back.

Although the opening bid was not accepted, dialogue remains ongoing with the interested party in an attempt to reach a deal.

Hickey, whose current contract expires next summer and is thought to be valued at around £1.3 million, has also been linked with Champions League winners Bayern Munich, Celtic and Manchester City.

The youngster broke into the team at the tail end of the 2018-19 campaign and made 30 appearances last season.

As Hickey prepares to depart Hearts, Elliott Frear became manager Robbie Neilson’s fourth summer recruit after the former Motherwell winger signed a 12-month contract yesterday.

On Hickey, Budge said: “Despite all the names thrown about, the club has only had one approach. That was on Tuesday of this week.

“We did receive an offer. I have gone back to them with a couple of questions so it is basically still being discussed.

“It’s not a million miles away, it’s pretty close.”

Budge, who confirmed the club in question was from mainland Europe, added: “Aaron is a lovely young lad. That’s one of the reasons I would love him to stay.

“He is also very sensible and he’ll think it all through. He works so hard and, despite everything going on, he is giving his all to training.”

Budge also conceded there was now little chance of the 18-year-old signing a new long-term deal with Hearts. She said: “I would love to keep Aaron here but – I don’t want to imply that it’s Aaron – the situation has snowballed a bit.

“Could we turn it back again? I don’t think we would have much chance of success. He’s got advisers and his advisers are telling him that he would be better moving.

“We have been trying to get Aaron to sign a long-term contract for a very long time. We’ve gone back two or three times but, with all the recent interest, I think it would be difficult to persuade him to stay.”

The cash boon Hearts are set to receive through any sale of Hickey will help in their bid to balance the books after the businesswomen previously conceded that dropping to the second tier could cost the club around £3 million in income.

The departures of high-earner Conor Washington and the likes of Sean Clare and Uche Ikpeazu already helped to redress the disparity in the turnover to wages ratio in what was regarded as a bloated squad.

She added: “We’ve cut the playing budget by a reasonable amount, which was essential.

“Our playing budget was too high for the Premiership, never mind the Championship, so we had to address that.”

Hearts youngster Aaron Hickey.