Arsenal close in on £18m Aaron Hickey as ex-Hearts star nominated for prestigious 'golden boy' award

Former Hearts star Aaron Hickey has been nominated for the prestigious Golden Boy accolade from Italian newspaper Tuttosport, with speculation rife that he is set to leave for Arsenal.

The Gunners are at the front of the queue to land the Scotland international, who currently plays for Bologna in Serie A.

The Italians are preparing for life after the full-back and it is a case of when not if he moves on – with the Emirates Stadium the most likely destination.

Arsenal will have to pay upwards of £18million to sign Hickey, 20, with Hearts in line for a sizeable windfall.

Bologna have been linked with a move for Hibs left-back Josh Doig and are one of four teams interested in the promising Easter Road star. However, they won’t sell Hickey if their price tag is not met.

"(Hickey) is one of those we could sacrifice, but if we don’t receive adequate offers, he’ll likely stay for another year,” Bologna’s sporting director Marco Di Vaio said.

“We have a good potential to do well and earn more than 50 points. We must be good at financing new signings and finding new players.

"If we make the right moves, we’ll be able to replace them and keep all the others.”

Aaron Hickey has been named amongst the 100 best young players in Europe. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Hickey is rubbing shoulders with the elite youngsters from around Europe and is the only Scot on the 100-strong list which recognises the best talent aged 21 or under.

Others on the list include Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s Pedri.