Bologna were last night celebrating their capture of Aaron Hickey.
Hearts’ teenage full-back will initially join the Serie A side on a one-year loan ahead of a £1.78-million permanent switch.
It ends a summer of uncertainty about his future which has seen him mull over a counter offer from Bayern Munich.
However, while that would have seen him join the Bavarians’ second team in Germany’s third tier, with Bologna he will go straight into the first-team squad.
“I am pleased to announce that Aaron Hickey will be a Bologna player,” club sporting director Walter Sabatini told The Sunday Post.
“Hearts have accepted our offer (one year loan with redemption obligation set at 2m euros) and the player is very happy to wear the Bologna shirt next season.
“It was not an easy negotiation. There were other very important teams following Hickey and who wanted to buy him, but in the end the player realised that coming to us would be the best choice for him.
“In recent weeks, he had already been to Bologna and having visited our Sports Centre realised how important our project was.
“We are very pleased to have closed this deal positively. Hickey is a very-talented guy, with a great future.”
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