Aaron Hickey 2021/22: The Scottish full-back coveted by AC Milan – scout report

Aaron Hickey represents the next elite Scottish full-back to grace a top European League. Hickey joined Serie A side Bologna from Scottish side Hearts and has impressed so much in Italy that, as well as being linked with a whole host of Premier League teams, he is rumoured to have garnered the interest of AC Milan technical director, and club legend, Paolo Maldini.

Hickey is a particularly interesting talent, given his already impressive appearances at this level, and at only 19 years of age, whilst Hickey is truly a two-footed player although perhaps is right is minimally the stronger, and can play as comfortably at right-back as he can at left. In fact, there have been games for Bologna this season where he has played left-back, left wing-back, and right-back, all in the same 90 minutes.

He is an attack-minded full-back, which we can see from the heat-map shown below, where he has plenty of action inside the opposition half, yet he is a well-rounded player, showing defensive prowess as well.

This tactical analysis and scout report will highlight some of the key areas of Hickey’s game, providing an overview as to why he is gaining so much interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs.

Positioning

As already indicated by the previously shown heat map, Hickey is adventurous with his positioning and will frequently be seen taking high positions on the flank, either over-lapping the winger playing in front of him or, if operating as a wing-back, even operating as the furthest forward player on the team.