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BECKS APPEAL

Aaron Hickey opens up on relationship with Romeo Beckham as Scotland star reveals he regularly visits icon’s family home

OFF the park he’s mixing with the son of a former world superstar.

Now Aaron Hickey can’t wait to try and put the shackles on a winger who’s turning into one on it.

Aaron Hickey has revealed he's pally with a member of the Beckham family
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Aaron Hickey has revealed he's pally with a member of the Beckham familyCredit: Kenny Ramsay

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the poster boy of the Georgian national side — and his sublime talent helped Napoli land their first Serie A title for 33 years last month.

Attempting to rein in the 22-year-old genius will be the latest test for Hickey, and could go a long way to deciding who comes out on top at Hampden.

But the 21-year-old Brentford defender feels ready for it after dealing with playing in Italy himself during a spell at Bologna, and now turning out in the Premier League every weekend.

Hickey said: “I actually do enjoy the bigger challenges.

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“I like to play against the top players This will be another good challenge for me and I will enjoy it.

“Kvaratskhelia plays on the left, and I watched him in Serie A and the Champions League last season.

“I’ve not spoken to anyone in Italy about him, but he’s very good with one v ones.

"We all know as a team that he’s one of Georgia’s key players, so we have to work together to try and shut him down as much as we can.

“We were up against top players in Norway when they had Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard and others.

“But we believe in ourselves and hopefully we can just do our best.”

It’s been a rapid rise for the former Hearts kid, who has been a big hit with the Bees since joining for £14million 12 months ago.

One of his team-mates in London is Romeo Beckham who’s become a good friend — he’s yet to meet his famous old man, though.

Hickey added: “Romeo is in the B team so we are quite friendly.

“I see him every day in the changing rooms and we hang out together. It’s funny, yeah.

“His dad is David Beckham, which is a bit of a weird one, but Romeo is a great guy. He is humble as well. He is a decent player and he’s in the reserve squad.

“I don’t really see too much of him, but from what I’ve heard, he seems to be doing well.

“I haven’t met his dad. I’ve been round to his house a few times, but David hasn’t been there.

“He is in at Brentford sometimes just walking around, but I haven’t met him or Romeo’s mum.”

Keeping Kvaradona and Co quiet at Hampden tonight, and landing another victory, would leave Scotland with 12 points from 12.

It would be the first time the Tartan Army have ever seen their side open any qualifying campaign with four wins from their first four games.

But Scotland only have to go back to 2007 to know tonight certainly won’t be a formality against the former Soviet republic.

Hickey was just five-years- old when Alex McLeish’s men crashed 2-0 in Tbilisi — a defeat which would ultimately cost them qualification for Euro 2008.

But this squad appears to be a different animal, with last Saturday’s stirring comeback win in Oslo coming on the heels of that thrilling Hampden victory over Spain.

Where other teams might have been guilty of being sucked in by the hype then underperformed, this group of players has a belief running through them after walking the walk so many times in recent years.

But those heroics and celebrations in Norway now have to be parked, to ensure there is no slip up at a sell-out national stadium.

Hickey said: “When we went into the changing room after the game everyone was buzzing and hugging each other.

“The gaffer was obviously delighted with the result, but at the same time he said not to let it get to our heads and to stay focused.

“We had to enjoy that moment for a short period of time as we knew we had another game on Tuesday.

“It is difficult after a win. It’s hard to move away from it and concentrate on the next game, especially as the matches are so close together.

“But we know we have got to do that to make sure the focus is on Georgia.

“We have a lot of characters within the squad.

“There are so many experienced boys in our dressing room who help the younger ones. They talk to everyone and make sure everyone is focused.

“It’s about the mentality. When we went a goal down in Oslo we stayed in the game and tried to keep doing what we were doing.

“We believe in ourselves, but at the same time we know it’s not easy.

“We’ve got to be humble and work hard and focus game-by-game.

“I’m still quite young, but coming into this team, the gaffer believes in me, so I’ve got to believe in myself and perform well for him. I’m just thankful to him.

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“It’s been really fast progress for me. I moved club last summer, moved back to the UK, got called up for Scotland and I’m meeting different people. It’s all come fast, but I’m really enjoying it so far.”


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