Exclusive:Aaron Hickey makes Hearts admission as he recalls Serie A adventure and lands glowing Scott McTominay verdict
Scotland international Aaron Hickey revealed his thoughts on former club Hearts’ excellent start to the season.
Former Hearts prodigy Aaron Hickey is tipping his old club for a stand-out season, hailing their impressive resurgence under head coach Derek McInnes.
Sitting second in the table after an unbeaten start to the campaign, behind Celtic only on goal difference, the Gorgie outfit look a far different proposition to the team that found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle at times last season. It’s early days, but Hickey is delighted to see the appointment of former Kilmarnock boss McInnes providing a big upturn in performances.
The ex-Jambos defender, who now stars in the English Premier League for Brentford, is tipping the Tynecastle outfit to make their mark this season, revealing that he still keeps a close eye on his former employers despite departing the club almost half a decade ago.
“I watch the Hearts games whenever I can,” Hickey told The Scotsman in an exclusive interview. “I love watching football. It has been good to see them doing well and getting back to where they should be. I’ll keep on watching them whenever I can.”
The Glasgow-born defender first exploded onto the scene as a 16-year-old, being handed his senior debut as a substitute against Aberdeen late in the 2018-19 season. Included in the starting XI against Celtic just two weeks later, Hickey became the youngest player in the modern era to start a domestic Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.
A stunning long-range winner in a 2-1 Edinburgh derby win over Hibs at Easter Road the following campaign sealed his reputation as one of the country’s most exciting young talents, and it didn’t take long for English Premier League clubs to show serious interest. However, it was Italian side Bologna who eventually won the race for his signature, bringing him to the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara for a bargain fee of £1.5million in the summer of 2020, where he spent two seasons before making a multi-million pound switch to Brentford and developing into a fully fledged Scotland international.
While Serie A now appears to be a destination of choice for many Scottish talents, it was a path few had taken when an 18-year-old Hickey took the plunge. Lennon Miller’s summer move from Motherwell to Udinese means there are now six Scottish players plying their trade in the Italian top flight, including international teammates Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, who won the title in their debut seasons with Napoli last year.
Five years on from his own move to the continent, Hickey believes the success of Scottish players has evidenced why he knew it was the right decision to move, as he recalled his decision to make the switch.
“I felt like the Serie A would give me a good opportunity,” he said. “I thought it was something completely different. No one had really done it from Scotland then. If you do well over there, it is one of the top leagues in the world. I thought if I got a chance, I could push on and get a move to the English Premier League.
“It was a step up in standard. Every team is a good team, a big team. It is more tactical, slower paced when it comes to training. It isn’t as intense, but the standard was better. I think he [Miller] will enjoy it. He will do well; he just needs to go and take it in his stride. He’s going to be playing against some of the best teams in the world. But go and enjoy it, take it all in. He’s still young.
“I’m delighted for him [McTominay]. He’s a great guy. He fully deserves his [Ballon d’Or] nomination. He’s been outstanding over there, scoring lots of goals. That’s been big for him. You’ll get attention if you score goals, and he’s managed to do that.”
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