Arsenal are reportedly closing in on the signing of Bologna full-back Aaron Hickey. The Scotland international could become the Gunners' third signing of the summer, after Brazil youngster Marquinhos and Emirates-bound Fabio Vieira.
Marquinhos' arrival at Arsenal was confirmed by the club earlier this week. Meanwhile, Vieira is widely reported to have agreed to move to north London from Porto for an initial fee of £30million.
Arsenal are in the market for a striker, with Gabriel Jesus their top target. But manager Mikel Arteta continues to add to other areas of the pitch and Hickey could be the next player through the door.
The Scotsman claims the Gunners are the likeliest destination for the 20-year-old. Arsenal will have to offer at least £18m for Hickey for Bologna to entertain a sale.
Arsenal transfer news: Fabio Vieira could quickly be joined by Aaron Hickey (Image: GETTY)
But the report expects a deal to be done, saying Arsenal are closing in on the signing. Bologna are already planning for life after Hickey and are said to be interested in another Scottish player in Josh Doig, who is currently at Hibernian.
Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio stated this week Hickey would be allowed to leave but only at the right price. He said: "(Hickey) is one of those we could sacrifice, but if we don’t receive adequate offers, he’ll likely stay for another year. 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.”
Hickey has spent the majority of his career at left-back. He would likely provide back-up initially to his international team-mate Kieran Tierney, who continues to struggle with injury problems.
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Arsenal transfer news: Aaron Hickey is a Scotland international (Image: GETTY)
He can also play on the right of defence, though Arsenal already have Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares in that position. The signing of Hickey could take Arsenal's summer spending to over £50m.
Marquinhos, 19, has signed a long-term contract after a fee of just under £3m was agreed with Sao Paulo. Meanwhile, news broke of Arsenal's agreement with Porto for Vieira on Thursday.
The Gunners are set to pay an initial £30m plus £4.1m in add-ons for the 22-year-old attacking midfielder. Meanwhile, Manchester City want £50m for Jesus, which could then take Arsenal's spending to north of £100m.
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