Scot Gemmill has explained why he delayed including former Hearts star Aaron Hickey in his Scotland Under 21 squad until now.
The 18-year-old sealed a £1.5million summer switch to Serie A with Bologna and is now in line for a return to Tynecastle when the young Scots take on Croatia next month before flying to Greece.
Hickey has made four appearances so far this season for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side, although there was a strong argument that he should have been called-up long before now while still a Hearts player.
But Gemmill now feels the time is right for the left back’s inclusion and a potential debut at Under 21 level, which would be good for the player and Scotland.
“It’s fantastic what Aaron has done but you have to play a certain amount of games before you can say that,” he said.
“If you said to him he’d play those games and be in this position approaching the international break then he would be delighted.
“Huge credit for putting himself in that position but hopefully he understands he has a lot of work to do and hopefully we can add to that with international experience.
“There was the period he got his move to Italy and last month we realised just how important it was for him to establish himself at the club.
“We didn’t include him then but everything is right to include him now. Hopefully it’s a win-win where it’s good for us and him.”
