"He may stay with us for another year" - Serie A club Sporting Director warns Arsenal to meet asking price for 20-year-old

Serie A club Bologna's Sporting Director Marco Di Vaio has warned Arsenal to meet their asking price for in-demand full-back Aaron Hickey.

According to the Express, the highly-rated Scotland international is a target for the Gunners for the summer transfer window. Amid strong links with Arsenal, Bologna's newly-appointed Sporting Director Marco Di Vaio has sent a warning to the north London club.

Di Vaio has insisted that the Serie A side will not part ways with the much-coveted young full-back on the cheap.

The former Italian striker has also not dismissed the idea of retaining the Scotsman for another year if their demands are not met. He told DAZN, as quoted by Express:

"Hickey may be one of the expendable names on the market, but in case of inadequate offers he may stay with us 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."

He added:

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

Arsenal are believed to be chasing a capable deputy for their first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney and Hickey looks to be at the top of the Gunners' wishlist.

Tierney has been excellent for the Gunners since signing for the north London giants back in 2019 from Celtic. However, the reliable left-back has been susceptible to injuries and missed a major part of the last campaign as well.

Mikel Arteta's side signed Nuno Tavares from Benfica last summer but the Portuguese has struggled to impress at the Emirates. Despite starting his Arsenal career pretty well, the 22-year-old made headlines for all the wrong reasons at the business end of the campaign.

Tavares could head out of the club on loan this summer with Atalanta and Marseille chasing his signature.

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Should Arsenal break the bank for Aaron Hickey?

Scotland already have two of the best left-backs in the world in the form of Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney. And Aaron Hickey seems to be more than capable of joining that bracket soon in the future.

The youngster had a fantastic last season for Bologna during which he made 36 Serie A appearances, scoring five goals in the process.

Lightning quick, defensively strong and devastating while moving forward, the 20-year-old has all the ingredients to become a complete full-back.

The Scotsman is also two-footed, which makes him capable of doubling up as a right-back. That would be a huge boost for the Gunners given Takehiro Tomiyasu's injury issues.

Arsenal should absolutely break the bank for the signing of the former Heart of Midlothian full-back.