The midfielder spoke of Moyes' pitch to him and the manager's track record of developing Championship players as being influential in his move to Merseyside
Hayden Hackney has signed for Everton
Hayden Hackney has signed for Everton
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Hayden Hackney singled out the appeal of working with David Moyes as one of the key factors in his decision to join Everton.
The midfielder, the Championship player of the year, was being monitored by as many as seven other clubs after Middlesbrough missed out on promotion, losing to Hull City in the play-off final.
Everton stole a march as they made Hackney, who turned 24 last week, a priority for the summer and moved quickly to pursue the England youth international. While talks ended up taking weeks, a breakthrough at the weekend paved the way for Hackney’s move to Merseyside in an initial £16.5m deal.
In comments released by the club upon the announcement of Hackney’s arrival, confirmed on Thursday morning, the player spoke of the size of Everton and his excitement at playing for such a prestigious club.
He said: "I'm delighted to be here. As soon as I spoke to the manager, as soon as I knew Everton were interested, to be honest, it was always going to be Everton. It’s such a big club, with the new stadium and the direction it’s going in. I just wanted to be part of that.”
Hackney built on his initial impression of Moyes, adding the manager’s reputation for taking players from the second tier and turning them into Premier League stars - a feat he has achieved with the likes of Joleon Lescott, Tim Cahill and Jarred Bowen - was key to his desire to call Hill Dickinson Stadium home.
He said: "The manager's track record of bringing players from the Championship to the Premier League was a massive part of my decision as well. Hopefully I can be the next one to do it successfully for Everton.
"It feels like a good fit for me, for sure. I think it's a given that you work hard, you run, you make tackles. I'll be doing that.”
For his part, Moyes alluded to that same record as he welcomed the new arrival to the club, stating: “Hayden is a promising young player who we’ve been tracking for some time, and I’m looking forward to working with him.
“We’ve had a track record over the years of identifying players in the Championship who have gone on to do really well for us and been good investments. We hope that will be the case with Hayden, too.”
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