Aston Villa must be kicking themselves for missing out on Scotland U19 international Aaron Hickey in the summer.

What was the story?

The versatile defender enjoyed a breakthrough season with Scottish side Hearts last season, making 22 appearances in the league, scoring once and providing one assist too.

His emergence onto the scene saw numerous clubs register their interest in the 18-year-old, with BBC Sport claiming that along with Villa, the likes of Bayern Munich, Bologna and Sheffield Wednesday were all keen on luring him away from Scotland.

In the end, Hickey joined Serie A side Bologna for just £1.5m.

Lange's big mistake

Able to play anywhere across the back-line at just 18, Hickey has already shown incredible versatility, and it's something Villa could have made the most out of.

The man who gave him his first-team debut, Craig Levein, 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."

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And after he made his debut for Bologna late last month, manager Sinisa Mihajlovic, said: "He doesn't speak Italian yet and he has to improve a few things but he's a lad with quality and personality who did well today. Right up to the end I wasn't sure whether to play him, because I had other players who have already started in that role, but I like to take risks."

For just £1.5m, Johan Lange should have taken a "risk" himself, and landed Villa a player who could have gone on to establish himself as a first-team star in any number of different positions for the club.