Man Utd, Liverpool & Arsenal target £50m Premier League defender

24 Sept 2023 12:42 BST
3 min read

Brentford and Scotland defender Aaron Hickey is being targeted by Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, according to reports.

The 21-year-old joined the Bees in 2022 after an impressive spell at Bologna in Serie A and he is now being tracked by some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

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The Mirror have reported that Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal are all ready to make bids for Hickey, while he is also being monitored by Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern.

According to The Mirror, Brentford are likely to charge €57 million (£50m) for the Scottish defender before they entertain the idea of selling him.

Hickey, who has 11 caps for the Scotland national team, has started all six Premier League games so far this season and Rico Henry’s recent injury lay-off means he shifted across to left-back for the defeat against Everton on Saturday.

What has been said about Hickey?

Brentford boss Thomas Frank appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football for Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw against Burnley and was asked about Hickey.

“With Aaron there is a lot of talk about whether he is a right back or a left-back, but I am in that privileged position that he can play on both sides and will most likely go on the left,” he said.

“He is both-footed and has huge ability, we don’t have that many full-backs so he is very important. He is a player we signed a year ago with big ambitions and his future and it is going in the right direction for him.”

In addition to interest from Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern, Hickey was also touted for a move to Manchester City in early 2023. Pep Guardiola was reportedly keen on signing the defender to bolster his squad, but a sale was blocked by Frank.

Following links with Man City, the Brentford manager said back in April: "We will not sell him. He’s not even been here a year, with all due respect. I think he’s a very good young player that I think has a fantastic future ahead of him.”