Aaron Hickey slip cannot hide fact that Scotland have unearthed a gem in Brentford full-back

Scotland’s extraordinary defiance in Seville ultimately may not have guaranteed them their berth in Euro 2028.

Yet, the 2-0 loss to Spain - however agonising - surely did more than merely delay them booking a place in next summer’s German finals. It ensured that when they are there next summer, they are guaranteed to face a distraction. Because there appears little question that come next June, the auction among leading lights of the English Premier League for the services of Aaron Hickey will be in full swing.

It would be truly unjust if there is any attempt to home in on the cruelest luck imaginable that befell the 21-year-old Brentford full-back when assessing his contribution in Andalusia. His slip near the right corner flag - while under no pressure - allowing Mato Joselu to throw in the cross that ended up being turned into his own goal by Ryan Porteous for the home side’s 86th minute clinching second goal.

It was so entirely out of keeping with the monumental display from the player that wrote large he is becoming as prized an asset as any that Steve Clarke has available to him. Hickey should not have been in that area to falter, of course. Nothing to do with any ill-judged positioning. Not on an evening when until that moment - a juncture when frankly the encounter had slipped away from Scotland despite an incredible ability to cling on with fingertips - he had so often proved in the right area, at the right time. Instead, it was a measure of Hickey’s two-footedness as well as his sure-footedness that he spent the second half covering at left-back, having started on the right, as a consequence of captain Andy Robertson being forced off with a suspected dislocated shoulder minutes before the interval.

Scotland defender Aaron Hickey challenges Spain's Alejandro Balde during the Euro 2024 qualifier in Seville. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)

In his more familiar role, Hickey had proved an unpassable object for Spain’s wide-men. His drive, his snapping into tackles, meant the hosts practically gave up seeking to initiate moves down that flank. As would be expected of a performer of his age, his 14 months in the English top flight - following a £14m move from Bologna for the Hearts youth product - has led to him noticeably filling out. But more than that, he has filled in with regards to bolstering the capabilities required to patrol the pitch looking every inch of looking a top class performer.

Frankly, there seems no limits to where his burgeoning talents appear capable of taking him. He has long been reported as on Arsenal’s list of possible purchases. Manchester United have also been previously credited as holding an interest. Scotland love to boast that they have a coterie of Premier League-based players. Yet, on the latest evidence it is perhaps Hickey who could take up the longest residence with one of the clubs in the upper echelons of the most celebrated league set-up.

The lightning pace of Hickey’s development can sometimes be too easily overlooked. Beyond his star turn in Hearts’ 2019 Scottish Cup final defeat to double-treble landing Celtic. It isn’t so very long ago since Nathan Patterson was being touted as the natural first-choice right back for the country. And the play-off semi-final defeat to Ukraine in June 2022 was followed by regretful murmurings of the “difficult night” he endured as he was doubled-up on by full-back Vitali Mykolenko and creative fulcrum Olkesandr Zinchenko. In truth, he ended up looking a little lost then. Losing his footing in Seville doesn’t change the fact that in Hickey, Scotland have found themselves a gem.