Tottenham Hotspur have been quite active in the transfer market in the ongoing summer window as Daniel Levy looks to gear up the arrivals at Hotspur Way, given how the North Londoners look to capitalise on their roster and form it according to the new head coach Thomas Frank. And this has led the Lilywhites to be linked with a lot of players, with Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney being the latest player to be aggressively linked with a move to N17.
The 22-year-old has been a target for Frank during his time at Brentford, and now the Dane head coach has been looking to bring him to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Moreover, given how Frank boasts a fantastic record of developing young players, he could help someone like Hackney to tap into the potential that he has.
There have been wide reports suggesting the Lilywhites links for the midfielder, and owner of the reportable Spurs podcast Lilywhites Rose, John Wenham, believes that the 22-year-old midfielder has the capacity to follow a similar path to Aston Villa maestro Brendan Rogers, irrespective of where he ends up this summer.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Tottenham News, he said:
“This is a player who Tottenham have long admired.
“I think he will make the move to the Premier League this summer, whether that’s with Tottenham or another club.
“Hackney is a versatile, young midfielder who will increase in value. He’s the right age, and anyone you speak to of a Middlesbrough persuasion will tell you he’s one of their best players. I think he will be sold for about £20m.
“And then, like we saw with Rogers, I imagine Hackney will follow a similar path and continue his progression until he is worth much more. Someone will take a punt this summer, I’m sure, I just don’t know if it will be Tottenham, we will have to wait and see.”
Hayden Hackney is more of a tempo-setting central midfielder who has the capacity to break lines with his passes and has that positional awareness complemented by security in build-ups.
Why does Thomas Frank want Hackney?
Tottenham lining up move for £20m-rated Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney
Tottenham lining up move for £20m-rated Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney
The Dane head coach has always liked to bring in young players who are positionally intelligent in a way that they can maintain the structure of the midfield while circulating the possession when facing pressure. He also likes players that offer progressive value when it comes to vertical passes and presses when facing mid-blocks and recovers quickly.
In a way, when you think about it, Hackney does end up matching this “Brentford midfield profile”. Think of Christian Nørgaard’s positioning with Josh Dasilva’s mobility.
How can Hackney fit under Thomas Frank’s tutelage at N17?
Tottenham set to run the rule over Hayden Hackney
I am thinking that Frank’s setup at N17 will incline towards a 4-3-3, 3-5-2, or even 3-4-2-1 in tougher away games, which is very much like how his setup was at Brentford, and in all of these frameworks, he needs the midfield to have a controller or a progressor (in a way, somebody that has the capacity to drop in for build-up), and this is where Hackney comes into consideration.
If I am talking about a 4-3-3, then here Hackney would likely play in the left central midfield role where he is allowing Bentancur to sit deep in more of a regista role, while this also allows Maddison to push up as a more advanced 8. He would be looking to play between the thirds while recycling the ball and progressing the play.
Then in a 3-4-2-1, he has the capacity to slot into the left pivot of the midfield two while playing alongside Bentancur. Playing in this role would allow him to cover wider defensive spaces while helping launch underlapping channels for Udogie from the full-back flank.
So if we are thinking in both cases, Hackney will bring in his ball security complemented by press resistance, and his calmness under pressure makes him a perfect fit for the structural system that Frank is expected to implement at Tottenham.
Let me get into the Morgan Roges comparison for once…
Morgan Rogers made that transition from the Championship to Aston Villa, and then he just took on the league by storm by showing his high technical ceiling complemented by his good tactical flexibility under Unai Emery. You can use Hayden Hackney is a deep-lying or central midfielder (Morgan Rogers is more of an attacking mid) and is following the same Championship route with rumoured links to Tottenham Hotspur.
The 22-year-old also possesses a high technical ceiling but stands out with excellent tactical flexibility. It does look like he is ready for the Premier League, particularly playing in a system under Thomas Frank.
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Author Opinion
Given his potential, Hayden Hackney is more than a project player, and moreover, the fact that he is already showcasing system awareness while being tactically savvy and having that vertical ability makes him an exciting target. If we are talking about the system that Thomas Frank is expected to implement at Tottenham, then I think Hackney would thrive at N17.