Everton and Crystal Palace are both monitoring a Middlesbrough star.placeholder image
Everton and Crystal Palace are both monitoring a Middlesbrough star. | AFP via Getty Images
Middlesbrough are braced for Premier League transfer interest in Hayden Hackney this summer.
Crystal Palace were reportedly planning a double £27 million swoop for Middlesbrough duo Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg but could have those plans foiled by Premier League rivals.
The Eagles have garnered a reputation for spotting the top talent in the Championship and bringing them to develop at Selhurst Park. Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton are just some who have followed that path in recent years.
Crystal Palace face transfer competition for Middlesbrough duo
However, any move for Hackney will be contested amid fresh reports from Sky Sports. Everton are said to hold serious interest in the 23-year-old, who was part of the England under-21 squad that won the Euros last month.
Brentford, Fulham and West Ham are all also said to be monitoring Hackney, alongside Crystal Palace and clubs in Europe that include Porto, Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen. Hackney is a product of the Middlesbrough academy and has two years left on his current contract at the Riverside Stadium.
At the end of June, reports of the Crystal Palace double Boro swoop began to emerge. It had been claimed that £27 million could bring both Hackney and his teammate Van den Berg to Selhurst Park.
Middlesbrough brace for Hayden Hackney interest
Middlesbrough rejected a £9 million offer for Hackney from Porto in January. In their report, The Sun added that Crystal Palace had been monitoring £12 million rated Van den Berg in Slovakia.
Hackney turned heads with his performances in midfield last season and impressed under the stewardship of Michael Carrick. The Boro manager has since been replaced by Rob Edwards and it remains to be seen whether Hackney continues his work at the club next term.
Speaking ahead of the Euros and after Carrick was sacked, the player said: “I found out Thursday I was in the squad and told my mum and dad and yeah I was buzzing. But also, yeah I was gutted about Michael Carrick to be honest. He’s done loads for me.
“He put his trust in me to play the majority of games and helped me so much with everything really. I can’t thank him enough for that. I text him straight away wishing him all the best in the future and he replied wishing me good luck for going away with England. It was nice. It’s probably the first manager that I’ve lost and I just wanted to thank him for everything. But now a new guy will come in, whoever that may be, and as a squad we’ll go from there.”
In other news, Crystal Palace should sign bargain £20m player Guardiola says is 'special' to replace Eze - opinion.
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