By Joe Ellis

17th May, 2022 | 3:18pm

Brentford push to win race for Bologna ace Aaron Hickey - report

Thomas Frank wants to bring Bologna full-back Aaron Hickey to Brentford this summer and they are pushing to make a deal happen, according to the Daily Mail.

The 19-year-old has enjoyed a terrific season in Serie A this year with five goals in 34 games from wing-back, where he has played on both the right and left.

That form saw him earn his first caps for Scotland in friendlies against Poland and Austria having massively kicked on since his £1.5million move to Italy from Hearts in 2020.

He was also named in the top 50 teenagers in the world by L’Equipe, as per Bologna’s official Twitter account, and the Bees have company in the hunt for his signature this summer from the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle United and Napoli.

Potential

Everyone is aware of how well Hickey has been playing in Italy ever since he made the bold switch to mainland Europe from his native Scotland and now he’s ready to return to the UK.

Brentford might be the perfect place for him to come back to as well after the Bees managed to comfortably avoid a relegation scrap in their first-ever year in the Premier League.

Frank already has young English wing-back Rico Henry who has been bombing up and down one flank all year but his right-hand side has been less settled.

Hickey’s versatility means he can go and do the job at right wing-back just as well as he could on the left and should anything happen to Henry, the Scot can easily adjust to a change in position.

He’d also get much more game time than he would at Arsenal who are challenging for European places but that’s not to say he’ll never go to The Emirates, but it could take the stepping stone of the Brentford Community Stadium to make him truly ready for the big time.

In other Brentford news, personal terms have been offered to this Championship ace lighting up the second division.