Celtic were quoted a fee of £6.8m to sign left-back Aaron Hickey this summer, The Daily Record report.

Hickey, who spent time at Parkhead as a youngster, has been with Italian side Bologna since 2020.

He’s started every Serie A game this season, scoring twice, taking his appearance tally with his current employers to 23.

The left-back, who is ‘like Busquets’ according to former coach Austin MacPhee and has been hailed as an 'extraordinary talent', has been linked with a return to Celtic Park in the January window.

Both Aston Villa and the Hoops have been rumoured with a winter window swoop, but it seems as if former Celtic CEO Dominic McKay may have missed the best chance to bring the defender back to the club.

The Latest: £6.8m summer fee

The Daily Record shared a report on the 19-year-old on Tuesday, claiming that the Hoops were quoted a fee of £6.8m to sign the full-back in the summer.

He appeared to be a man on Ange Postecoglou’s radar, however, reports in the summer suggested Celtic’s bid was worth just £3.5m, so they are well short of that valuation.

The Verdict: Missed opportunity…

Left-back has recently been described as the ‘problem position’ at Parkhead by Frank McAvennie, and with Greg Taylor sidelined, it now appears as if McKay made a blunder by not signing Hickey.

Hickey’s Transfermarkt valuation, which was £4.5m in the summer, now stands at £7.2m, and as The Daily Record mention, the £6.8m summer asking price will only increase.

As Kieran Devlin states, none of Boli Bolingoli, Liam Scales or Adam Montgomery has made the left-back role their own with Taylor out, so the Hoops may live to regret not bringing Hickey back over the summer.