Middlesbrough stance on Hayden Hackney summer transfer revealed as Crystal Palace and Fulham ‘doing their work’

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In an EFL Analysis exclusive, we can reveal Middlesbrough are hopeful of keeping Hayden Hackney beyond the 2025 summer transfer window, but several Premier League clubs are looking at the midfielder.

Hayden Hackney has been one of the most consistent players at Middlesbrough in what has been a trying season so far.

Michael Carrick’s future has been called into question, and it remains to be seen if he will still be in charge come the beginning of the 2025/26 season.

Boro have flirted with promotion since the former Manchester United midfielder arrived at the Riverside – finishing four points outside the top six in 2023/24 and losing in the play-off semi-finals the campaign prior.

2024/25 sees Middlesbrough once again looking to make a late push for the play-offs, sitting three points adrift of the top-six after beating Queens Park Rangers on March 11th.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	CoventryCoventry	37	16	8	13	52	48	4	56
7	Bristol CityBristol City	37	13	15	9	47	40	7	54
8	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	37	15	8	14	57	48	9	53
9	BlackburnBlackburn	36	15	7	14	41	37	4	52
10	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	37	14	9	14	53	58	-5	51

Should they fail to secure promotion, though, it looks likely that Hackney will depart the North East in the coming transfer window.

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Middlesbrough need play-offs to keep Hayden Hackney

Speaking to TBR Football’s Chief Football Correspondent and transfer expert Graeme Bailey, EFL Analysis learned that Hackney is ‘almost certainly’ going to leave Middlesbrough if Carrick and co. fail to secure a spot in the play-offs.

He said: “Hayden Hackney’s future is almost certainly away from Teesside if Middlesbrough fail to make the play-offs.

“A lot of Premier League clubs are doing their work on Hackney. Crystal Palace and Fulham recently, whilst the likes of Tottenham and Nottingham Forest have held a long-standing interest in him and have been watching him for a long time.

“But as it stands, Middlesbrough still hope to keep him, there is no talk within the club about him leaving and certainly not from his camp, they are aware of the interest but they have been for a couple of years now.

“The full focus for the player and club is promotion, but come the summer they know that they will have a decision to make.”

How much could Middlesbrough sell Hayden Hackney for

Likely to the displeasure of fans, Middlesbrough have had to sell a number of their top stars in recent years.

Chuba Akpom made the move to Ajax after scoring the most goals of any Boro player (29) in a single season since Fabrizio Ravanelli in 1996/97 (31)

Morgan Rogers was sold to Aston Villa less than a year after his arrival and is now excelling in the Premier League and Europe.

More recently, Emmanuel Latte Lath departed the Riverside to join MLS outfit Atlanta United for £22.5m.

When we asked Bailey about a potential price-tag for Hackney, he said: “Hard to tell in terms of fee, they [Middlesbrough] got £15million for Marcus Tavernier three years ago so you would imagine that is a decent marker for any deal for Hackney.”

While only speculation at this stage, Hackney has the potential to play for England, and given how much time has passed since the Tavernier deal, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Boro demand somewhere close to the figure they recently netted for Latte Lath in order to part ways with their star midfielder.