Aaron Hickey could be rushed into an instant debut for Bologna in Serie A next week if he completes his move from Hearts in time.

The defender is set to finalise terms on his switch to the Italian top tier after a deal was agreed between the two sides. Despite his move not yet becoming official, Bologna fans will be clamouring for the youngster to put pen to paper and be unveiled after first-choice left-back Mitchell Dijks was shown a red card against AC Milan yesterday evening.

The Dutchman saw two yellow cards and will now be suspended for his side's visit of Parma in league action on September 28. And with seemingly no other left-sided defenders available, manager Sinisa Mihajlovic will be desperate to get Hickey's move completed to at least give him the option of playing the Scot.

One selling point of Mihajlovic's to Hickey ahead of his proposed move was that he would be guaranteed a fast-track into the first-team set-up as opposed to having to work his way up from the academy squad. But it is unlikely the boss, nor the player himself, would have expected the transition to be quite as dramatic as it may be this coming Monday.

Hickey's move to Bologna is believed to be worth around £1.5million to the Jambos.