Brentford are set to compete with Arsenal and Manchester United to sign promising full-backs Aaron Hickey and Max Aarons.
The Bees are looking to strengthen in the summer following an impressive debut season in the Premier League, and Thomas Frank is prioritising the full-back/wing-back areas.
Rico Henry and Mads Roerslev are the only recognised players in these positions, and The Sun reports that Bologna’s Hickey and Norwich’s Aarons have been identified as the perfect additions to the west London club.
Djed Spence has also been touted as a possible signing for Brentford following his impressive season on loan at Nottingham Forest from Middlesbrough but acquiring the right-back may prove tough with the 21-year-old heavily linked with Tottenham.
After making his senior debut with Hearts aged just 16, Hickey has gone onto become one of the most promising young defenders in the game following two impressive years with Serie A side Bologna, and even featured on the longlist for the 2021 Golden Boy award.
The 19-year-old left-back is also capable of playing as a centre-back, midfielder and right-back, featuring as the latter in Scotland’s 3-1 defeat to Ukraine on Wednesday night and has recently been strongly linked with Arsenal, who want his versatility to help cover Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu’s injury woes.
Brentford will have to act fast to sign Hickey however, with the Gunners reportedly close to a £21.5million deal for the defender.
As for Aarons, the 22-year-old is likely to leave Carrow Road following the Canaries second relegation from the Premier League in three years, with United in the frame to sign him.
Erik ten Hag is still assessing his new squad and may look for an upgrade at right-back in light of the struggling form of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot.
In spite of Norwich’s problems, Aarons has played at a consistently good level since making his debut for the club in 2018 and could thrive under the management of Frank and with better teammates around him.
While his status as a Championship player will make him cheaper to sign, Brentford may still face a tough task in acquiring his signature, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also taking a keen interest in the Englishman.
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