Man City target Aaron Hickey in £1.5m deal

[tynietigers]

2 minutes ago, BRY said:

Could this be an agreement as part of the Meshino deal...?

And supposedly another player as well.

[Section Q]

It's taken us years, "literally" to find a decent left back, and £1.5m is way to cheap. 

Just for the record, the last left back we sold to Manchester City was Arthur Mann in the late sixties and was a record fee for a Scottish defender if memory serves me right.....£69,000ish....!

[the general]

5 minutes ago, Section Q said:

It's taken us years, "literally" to find a decent left back, and £1.5m is way to cheap. 

Just for the record, the last left back we sold to Manchester City was Arthur Mann in the late sixties and was a record fee for a Scottish defender if memory serves me right.....£69,000ish....!

 

Mann was my first ever Hearts idol

[Tokyo Drifter]

10 hours ago, letsalldothebeattie said:

By January the asking price will be at least 20 million

 

Or, more likely, he'll be injured.

 

I'd take whatever they offer. Even by January he'll have played only a handful of first team games.

[Spellczech]

2 hours ago, jack D and coke said:

Bit premature that mate no? He’s played about 7 games for us. 

I agree he looks good at this early stage but Tierney has had a few good seasons, Hickey has a way to go yet. 

Key word was "prospect". I'm well aware Tierney is several years ahead of him, but the boy played in a cup final in his second start and was solid. He has pace and looks to have a better balance between attacking and defending than Tierney has. IMO Tierney is a better wing-back than Full-back. Hickey looks like he may not have than imbalance...

[Beast Boy]

It always amazes me the way Hearts supporters are so quick to try and propose low prices for the players we sell.

[Biguche]

Selling a youngster who is little more than a good prospect to Man City for £1.5m along with a % sell on clause would be too good an offer for us to knock back. Chances are if he moves he fades into obscurity and emerges in the lower English leagues in a few years. If he beats the odds and goes on to be a success then we would be quids in.

[Section Q]

👍

9 minutes ago, the general said:

 

Mann was my first ever Hearts idol

 

[jack D and coke]

3 minutes ago, Spellczech said:

Key word was "prospect". I'm well aware Tierney is several years ahead of him, but the boy played in a cup final in his second start and was solid. He has pace and looks to have a better balance between attacking and defending than Tierney has. IMO Tierney is a better wing-back than Full-back. Hickey looks like he may not have than imbalance...

Fair doos man. Imo though it’s a bit premature to say he’s a better prospect. Tierney has just went for a Scottish record and when fit is a very good attacking full back. 

We’ll see I suppose and just to add I’m not for punting him for £1.5m anytime soon either. 

Poke that. 

[Spellczech]

7 minutes ago, Icon of Symmetry said:

It always amazes me the way Hearts supporters are so quick to try and propose low prices for the players we sell.

Indeed. We used to, 20 years ago!, sell players for £2m a time - Niemi, Cameron, Naysmith, McLaren etc but now our canny fans publicly state that any offer north of £500k is great value!!

Edited August 27, 2019 by Spellczech

[Bainy]

he is by far our best prospect I am sure the maangement will have him valued a lot higher.  a good price and possible loan back would be a sesnible move I reckon but he should be valued at much more than £1.5M. 

 

If he was knocking about in League 1 or 2 in Enghland they would be talking at least £10M 

[Beast Boy]

2 minutes ago, Spellczech said:

Indeed. We used to, 20 years ago!, sell players for £2m a time - Niemi, Cameron, Naysmith, McLaren etc but now our canny fans publicly state that any offer north of £500k is great value!!

 

It’s quite a JKB phenomenon as well. It’s a version of ‘Scottish cringe’ imo. Know our place and all that. 🙄

[AndY13]

39 minutes ago, BRY said:

Could this be an agreement as part of the Meshino deal...?

Rather have Hickey than Meshino

[SUTOL]

1 minute ago, AndY13 said:

Rather have Hickey than Meshino

 

In the scenario being debated we would have both and an extra £1.5million in the bank. 

[indianajones]

The hickey transfer isn't true but that league and club can away and **** itself anyway. 

[August Landmesser]

More importantly, what's the story with Harry Cochrane's special pants?

[Beast Boy]

1 minute ago, SUTOL said:

 

In the scenario being debated we would have both and an extra £1.5million in the bank. 

 

Would still rather have more money than £1.5m for what looks like the best prospect we have produced since Gordon. The loans and all that are fine and I am always open to bringing in top players in loan, but £1.5m would be a shockingly bad deal, even with the loan back agreement. I hope to **** that figure has been plucked from the clouds by the Celticky arsehole who penned the story.

[Spellczech]

3 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Fair doos man. Imo though it’s a bit premature to say he’s a better prospect. Tierney has just went for a Scottish record and when fit is a very good attacking full back. 

We’ll see I suppose and just to add I’m not for punting him for £1.5m anytime soon either. 

Poke that. 

The thing is though, being an attacking FB at Celtic is a darned sight easier than being FB at Hearts. The reason Liverpool knew they had got a bargain was because Robertson was an achiever at Hull.  I think it is only natural that defenders skill as defenders develop better at mid-level clubs than at top clubs simply because there is more defending to be done...IMO there are question marks still over Tierney as a defender but that is why it was Arsenal who signed him as, since their great English defenders of the early 2000s retired, they haven't worried overly much about their defenders being strong defensively first and foremost...

[Jodami]

The urge to sell by some fans is embarrassing, the club is on a stable financial footing so there is absolutely no need. I hate seeing us sell our best players irrespective of what we get for them. 

I want to see Hickey play in a Hearts team that is playing well and watch him develop. I'm sure that would help his value appreciate and I don't doubt he will go when it's right for him. Team needs to improve though! 

[Nookie Bear]

8 minutes ago, Spellczech said:

Indeed. We used to, 20 years ago!, sell players for £2m a time - Niemi, Cameron, Naysmith, McLaren etc but now our canny fans publicly state that any offer north of £500k is great value!!

 

True, but these guys had all played 3 or 4 seasons for us and proven themselves over 100 games and more.

 

Hickey is clearly a prospect but has only played 7 games and, whilst £1.5m is pennies to Man City, it still represents a gamble and we are all too aware just how easy it is for a player's development to stall.  And i don't think it's anything to do with the 'Scottish cringe' or 'knowing our place', it is just financial reality.

 

I have no idea if he is worth £1.5m or more, but that is probably his value right now. The frustration is that, if he played 100 games for us and continued to develop, he could be worth £10m.

[jr ewing]

Any monies would be wasted so keep. 

[busby1985]

Thanks to Budge and her great work off the park we only ever have to sell at our price. That gives us all the power in deals like this. If Man City are willing to pay £1.5million for a player that hasn’t even played 10 first team games, then they’ll come back chapping with a better offer once he gets to 20 first team games. No rush to sell. 

[upgotheheads]

And we're not due to play Sevco for weeks yet!

[Beast Boy]

2 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Any monies would be wasted so keep. 

 

Would it aye? Wasted on the academy that produced him? Or wasted on players like Naismith?

[AndY13]

15 minutes ago, SUTOL said:

 

In the scenario being debated we would have both and an extra £1.5million in the bank. 

Reckon he'll be worth at least double that in a couple of years tho

[upgotheheads]

4 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

True, but these guys had all played 3 or 4 seasons for us and proven themselves over 100 games and more.

 

Hickey is clearly a prospect but has only played 7 games and, whilst £1.5m is pennies to Man City, it still represents a gamble and we are all too aware just how easy it is for a player's development to stall.  And i don't think it's anything to do with the 'Scottish cringe' or 'knowing our place', it is just financial reality.

 

I have no idea if he is worth £1.5m or more, but that is probably his value right now. The frustration is that, if he played 100 games for us and continued to develop, he could be worth £10m.

 

And if he'd played 7 games for the Arse cheeks he'd be worth 10 Million at least.

[Pistol1874]

1 hour ago, Gorgieshed said:

Absolute non story this.

Correct.

 

The cynic in me sees this as a fairly transparent attempt at setting price expectations low so that Celtic can bid sweeties and say the tried when he moves elsewhere (see McGinn).

 

As I’ve said before, the lad has no need to make an OF stop, his career trajectory will see him bypass both quite quickly, just not for £1.5m (again, see McGinn).

[Beast Boy]

2 minutes ago, busby1985 said:

Thanks to Budge and her great work off the park we only ever have to sell at our price. That gives us all the power in deals like this. If Man City are willing to pay £1.5million for a player that hasn’t even played 10 first team games, then they’ll come back chapping with a better offer once he gets to 20 first team games. No rush to sell. 

 

Unfortunately that’s not necessarily the case. If Hickey wants to move to Manchester City, he can demand that we take the offer. I think he’s only contracted up to another season after this one, because that’s all we are able to do with players his age. So, if he says he wants to go and won’t sign a new contract, then we would have to accept this deal, as it would be more beneficial to us. If he gets loaned back for a season and we get the Manchester City player for a year, plus £1.5m then that’s better than a development fee and he leaves in a year anyway. Of course, the better option is he signs a new deal with us, and we sell him for £5m+ further down the line after he’s made a bigger contribution for us on the park. Or City offer the same terms as reported in the Sun but with a bigger transfer fee.

[Jambof3tornado]

A few u19 caps etc will only improve things.

 

Any idea who Hickey has as an agent? Is it a family member likely to look after him properly or a scumbag who will punt him at the first decent offer?

[jr ewing]

12 minutes ago, Icon of Symmetry said:

 

Would it aye? Wasted on the academy that produced him? Or wasted on players like Naismith?

Academy has produced how many regular first team players exactly? And costs just under a million a year to run. 

[busby1985]

8 minutes ago, Icon of Symmetry said:

 

Unfortunately that’s not necessarily the case. If Hickey wants to move to Manchester City, he can demand that we take the offer. I think he’s only contracted up to another season after this one, because that’s all we are able to do with players his age. So, if he says he wants to go and won’t sign a new contract, then we would have to accept this deal, as it would be more beneficial to us. If he gets loaned back for a season and we get the Manchester City player for a year, plus £1.5m then that’s better than a development fee and he leaves in a year anyway. Of course, the better option is he signs a new deal with us, and we sell him for £5m+ further down the line after he’s made a bigger contribution for us on the park. Or City offer the same terms as reported in the Sun but with a bigger transfer fee.

And if we take our Hearts glasses off you say it’s a no brainer for the lad. Would also be sensational business from us. Take the £1.5 and a player then get Hickey back on loan for the next two season. Great incentive for the next generation of youngsters coming through. 

[AlphonseCapone]

Hi Man City, **** off Man City. 

[Romulus]

Can't believe there's posts on here looking for us to sell for £1.5m, craziness!

 

To put this into a bit of perspective, we received more than that for Neil McCann in 1998, 21 years ago.

 

This guy could potentially make us a fortune, a both footed full back. Aberdeen have shown the way to go with McKenna, hold out for as much as possible, especially given the amount of money these teams have.

 

 

[YouLetYourClubDie]

I would rather keep him till the end of his deal than sell for 1.5 in January.

[Nookie Bear]

If Man City want to develop Hickey, would they not rather do it as part of their own set up, rather than loaning him back to the SPL?

 

 

[Dallas Green]

They can do one of that is what they are going to offer for him.

[Jambof3tornado]

6 minutes ago, YouLetYourClubDie said:

I would rather keep him till the end of his deal than sell for 1.5 in January.

What will we be due at the end of his deal?

[Notts1874]

I'm thinking that Hearts have "leaked" this story.

[Spellczech]

34 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

True, but these guys had all played 3 or 4 seasons for us and proven themselves over 100 games and more.

 

Hickey is clearly a prospect but has only played 7 games and, whilst £1.5m is pennies to Man City, it still represents a gamble and we are all too aware just how easy it is for a player's development to stall.  And i don't think it's anything to do with the 'Scottish cringe' or 'knowing our place', it is just financial reality.

 

I have no idea if he is worth £1.5m or more, but that is probably his value right now. The frustration is that, if he played 100 games for us and continued to develop, he could be worth £10m.

It was the financial reality 6-10 years ago. It hasn't been the reality for more than 5 years now...Some people appear to be stuck in the mindset that was created when we refused to sell Andy Driver and lament that opportunity cost, but losing out of a big fee for Driver did not cost Hearts massively as the never paid a huge fee to get him... Yes holding onto a player is a gamble, but so is having to spend the money you get to replace that player...Cashing out early is what smaller clubs like Hearts are expected to do...because the media and big clubs tell us that this is what we are meant to do...

[upgotheheads]

How long is his contract? if we keep him this season and he continues to progress at this rate then we could have the biggest clubs queuing up for him! 10 million, plus add-ons and a years loan😀

[Beast Boy]

21 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Academy has produced how many regular first team players exactly? And costs just under a million a year to run. 

 

It’s just produced the guy we are actually talking about... so eh... y’know... 🙃

[Beast Boy]

Look I’ve said further up the page that I don’t think we are in a strong position here, and this may be a deal we have to accept. The club would need to be commended for getting as much out of it as they can, instead of losing him for a development fee, if this £1.5m is the real offer. However, that’s a ****ing steal for the best player we have produced since Gordon, and I wouldn’t be doing cartwheels over it. Sadly that’s the way with modern football however.

 

MODERN FOOTBALL IS RUBBISH ☹️

Edited August 27, 2019 by Icon of Symmetry

[the general]

6 minutes ago, Notts1874 said:

I'm thinking that Hearts have "leaked" this story.

 

Interesting .. why would we do that do you think?

[Beast Boy]

27 minutes ago, busby1985 said:

And if we take our Hearts glasses off you say it’s a no brainer for the lad. Would also be sensational business from us. Take the £1.5 and a player then get Hickey back on loan for the next two season. Great incentive for the next generation of youngsters coming through. 

 

It would be a good effort at getting something out of a situation where we could have been left with literally **** all, but it’s very far from “sensational”.

[Notts1874]

2 minutes ago, the general said:

 

Interesting .. why would we do that do you think?

Multiple reasons I suppose. If it ends up in the Sun the story has usually come from the club.

[Spellczech]

31 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Academy has produced how many regular first team players exactly? And costs just under a million a year to run. 

So by your own argument which is the more likely? - selling one player ever year for £1m for 10 years without fail or sell one player for £10m at any time in a decade...

 

The Academy will pay for itself in due course. Selling prospects too soon is more likely to hinder than help it do that...

[Darren]

4 hours ago, shaun.lawson said:

1. Hearts invest in women's football and recruit technical director from Man City women

 

2. Sun hack highlights the "close links" which don't actually exist between Hearts and Man City

 

3. Sun hack makes up a story about City wanting 17-year-old Hearts player, and invents price tag

 

The Sun hack's gotta pay the bills, after all.  

 

2 minutes ago, Notts1874 said:

Multiple reasons I suppose. If it ends up in the Sun the story has usually come from the club.

 

I wonder who could be correct 🤔

Although the invented price tag looks about right.

[Notts1874]

1 minute ago, Darren said:

 

 

I wonder who could be correct 🤔

Although the invented price tag looks about right.

Pro tip. Shaun knows **** all about Heart of Midlothian 👍

[Darren]

1 minute ago, Notts1874 said:

Pro tip. Shaun knows **** all about Heart of Midlothian 👍

 

I was trying to say that in a slightly more subtle manner.

[...a bit disco]

1 minute ago, Notts1874 said:

Pro tip. Shaun knows **** all about Heart of Midlothian 👍

 

Ah, but what does he know about Man City, eh?