Hearts Aaron Hickey must not overthink amid Bayern talk - Steven Naismith
- Published
Aaron Hickey, left, is a player in demand
Club captain Steven Naismith says in-demand Aaron Hickey should not "overthink" his future and concentrate on Hearts for the time being.
The 18-year-old left-back is wanted by Bayern Munich and Italian Serie A side Bologna, and has been linked with Celtic, where he was a youth player.
Hearts value Hickey, who has a year left on his contract, at £1.5m, but are yet to receive any bid.
"What will happen with his future will happen," Naismith told BBC Scotland.
"There's no point overthinking anything at the moment; just get your head down and work hard and if he moves on he moves on.
"If he doesn't, he'll have another season of first-team football which will do him no harm."
Hickey made his debut for Hearts aged 16, and two weeks later became the youngest player to start a Scottish Cup final in the modern era when he played against Celtic in May last year.
Bologna intend for him to be part of their first-team squad, while Bayern would place him in their second team, which plays in the German third tier.
And Naismith believes that environment could be just as beneficial as first-team football.
"I think when I was younger that [first-team football] was probably one of the main things, but I think football's changed a bit," he said.
"I've said to him [Hickey] a few times that if something does happen and he has a decision to make, the one he wants to take will feel right, no matter if that is the best team, the biggest team, or whatever."
Hearts begin their Championship season against Dundee on 17 October.