There is no better place for Hickey than Brentford

AND so it appears Aaron Hickey’s adventure in Italy is about to come to an end. For young players keen to progress their careers quickly and get themselves noticed there is a clear pathway presented by certain mid-tier European clubs that offer a shop window and the opportunity to develop while being offered playing time at the highest level.

Bologna in Serie A is one such club. One only needs to look at the types of players the Italians have targeted in recent seasons to see that their scouting tentacles spread across Europe – and beyond. They are certainly no strangers to Scottish football as their recent interest in bringing Calvin Ramsay to the club demonstrated.

Having handed over

£1.5 million to Hearts in 2020, Bologna are likely to lodge a cheque in their account for £14m should the Scotland full-back complete his transfer to Brentford.

Hickey has certainly accelerated his career as a result of his time in Italy and now he stands on the brink of a move to a club that has operated a similar policy to that of Bologna.

Brentford’s recruitment strategy and the role their owner Matthew Benham, has played in establishing a rigorous scouting department has been well documented. The fruits of his staff’s work are evidenced by the club’s rise to England’s top flight.

There have been some who have questioned Hickey’s choice of clubs but Brentford are no mere relegation fodder – they will continue to improve in the Premier League and the 20-year-old will be afforded the full opportunity to demonstrate that he is fully equipped to make a name for himself at that level.

Should there be any doubt about it, one only needs to remember Kristoffer Ajer’s words last year when revealing what persuaded him to join the Londoners.

“They said that they had been to 123 games of Celtic’s and provided feedback on which ones were green and approved, and which ones were red and unacceptable,” the Norwegian told media in his homeland. “They analyse everything. What I liked about this club compared to the others, was that they said that there was a lot of exciting things about me they were interested in, but also that I had to improve a lot.”

When Hickey’s ready, his time will come – the Big Six in

England have a habit of getting their way when they decide they want something.