Fabrizio Romano drops major Newcastle United transfer claim that'll excite supporters - opinion

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Newcastle United are one of the teams interested in signing Bologna defender Aaron Hickey.

Posting on Twitter, Romano claimed: “Newcastle are interested in signing Bologna fullback Aaron Hickey. Potential fee £15-20m not an issue, he’s considered a top talent – but other clubs monitoring closely. #NUFC Hickey has played more minutes than any other teenager in Europe’s top five leagues this season.”

Able to play anywhere across the back-line, the £13.5m-rated Hickey has already shown incredible versatility, and it’s something that Eddie Howe would surely embrace.

The 19-year-old has been a regular presence for Bologna, making 27 appearances in Serie A, scoring four goals and providing one assist.

With stints at left-back, left-midfield, right-back and right-midfield, Hickey is getting a footballing education in Italy, and it’s no surprise that he has been tipped to transition into midfield more permanently in the future.

Craig Levein, the man who gave the teenager his senior debut, pointed out: “He’s got really good defensive qualities but I don’t know if he’ll end up being a full-back, he might end up going back into midfield. He could be a fantastic holding midfielder with his great awareness of danger and his ability to get out of tight situations with the ball at his feet.”

With a passing accuracy of 84.1% in Serie A (the fourth-best of any Bologna player to have started more than ten games this season), and averaging 1.4 tackles per game (again, the fourth-best among his teammates), he certainly has the ball-playing skills and reading of the game to thrive in central midfield in the future.

At just 19, Hickey is already building up considerable experience in playing at the highest