Everton are in talks with Middlesbrough over a potential move for midfielder Hayden Hackney.
The Athletic reported on June 2 that several Premier League clubs were interested in signing Hackney, who has 12 months left on his Middlesbrough contract.
Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Crystal Palace have been among his suitors, and though Hackney’s preference is to join Everton, interest in the 23-year-old remains from elsewhere.
Middlesbrough are prepared for the midfielder to enter the final year of his contract unless an offer arrives which they consider to be suitable.
Everton have also considered Southampton’s Shea Charles as they look to strengthen their midfield, while there is doubt over the futures of Tim Iroegbunam, who has attracted interest from elsewhere in recent months, and Idrissa Gueye, who the club are set to hold talks with his contract expiring this month.
Hackney made 41 appearances in all competitions for Middlesbrough last season, scoring six goals and providing eight assists. A graduate of Middlesbrough’s academy, Hackney made his senior debut in January 2021. He joined Scunthorpe United on loan later that year, spending the 2021-22 season on loan with the then-League Two side.
Hackney’s first-team breakthrough at Middlesbrough came after the appointment of now-Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick in October 2022, becoming a fixture of the starting lineup under the Englishman. He has recorded 16 goals and 17 assists in 154 appearances for the club.
Why Everton want Hackney
Analysis by Patrick Boyland and Conor O’Neill
David Moyes has been keen to improve the technical quality of his team. Hackney, a progressive passer who likes to drive forward with the ball, could help. He scored six goals and provided eight assists in 41 games for Middlesbrough this season and is more focused on the final third than either James Garner or Idrissa Gana Gueye.
No Championship player (with 900-plus minutes played) averaged more than Hackney’s 35.7 touches in the attacking third per 90 minutes this season. He has a particular habit of drifting into advanced positions down the side of the penalty area, as the graphic below shows.
The higher proportion of his touches in more advanced areas, compared to those of James Garner and Gueye, shows he is not a long-term replacement for the Senegal international.
There are some questions of balance here. Hackney would most likely line up for Everton alongside Garner. While he is a willing, combative presence out of possession, he is at his best when given freedom to roam. There would be more onus on his partner to put in defensive work, as well as dictate from deep.
Hackney is not the biggest or quickest either, so Everton would probably need a more physical presence in that area at times. Should the 36-year-old Gueye leave, that would almost certainly become their focus in the market. So this transfer alone would not solve all of their midfield needs.
Yet there is little doubt Hackney is a promising player. His record for Middlesbrough and England Under-21s, plus the number of clubs who have courted him, is proof of that.