Hayden Hackney joins Everton with good will and best wishes from all at Middlesbrough
12:52, 02 Jul 2026
Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough acknowledges the fans
Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough acknowledges the fans(Image: Getty Images)
Certain academy players generate a little extra buzz than others. Hayden Hackney was certainly one of those at Middlesbrough.
The midfielder, who has completed his big-money move to Everton this week, was just 18 when I started at the Gazette in August 2020. Already though, his name kept cropping up again and again.
With Boro’s squad smashed to pieces by a Covid outbreak, Hackney would make his senior debut later that season as Neil Warnock’s young side crashed out of the FA Cup after a narrow 2-1 loss at Brentford.
In my post-match ratings I said of Hackney: “Almost created a goal and looked comfortable in possession throughout. Never once looked out of place.”
Fast forward five and a half years and the 24-year-old has well and truly surpassed the level. The Championship Player of the Year has looked a class above the second tier for well over a year. And now, with his switch to Everton, he gets the chance to prove it.
It’s never nice to lose a player as special and as important as Hackney. In an alternative and far more ideal world, we’d be sitting now, excitedly looking forward to the Premier League season ahead, while celebrating Hackney’s new Boro contract.
However, from the moment Boro hearts were broken at Wembley, Hackney’s departure this summer felt inevitable. With just 12 months remaining on his contract, Boro were in a position where selling their star man was almost a necessity.
They didn’t do it easily, however. They rejected three Everton offers before finally settling on a deal worth £25m. They’ve also included a future sell-on fee too, which has every chance of being very useful at some point down the road.
As painful as it can be to see a star leave, the fact of the matter is, Hackney deserves this opportunity. Boro, meanwhile, get a good fee, early in the summer transfer window too, which will make a big difference to their summer rebuild.
But more importantly on Hackney, I’ve no doubt whatsoever that he leaves with the best wishes of every Boro supporter. We’ll no doubt all watch on with pride as he looks to show the quality we’ve all seen at Boro for the last four years in the best division in the world.
It would be almost 18 months after that Boro debut at Brentford that Hackney would finally make his breakthrough into the first-team picture at the Riverside.
There was a tough loan spell at Scunthorpe before that. He suffered relegation from the Football League there. But the experience helped shape the star he became.
The clamour to see more of him grew upon his return from Glanford Park. Chris Wilder’s side were struggling after the loss of fellow academy graduate Marcus Tavernier. Wilder resisted using the young star beyond a cup appearance, but his own Boro departure would open the door.
Leo Percovich handed Hackney his first league start against Birmingham in his first game in interim charge. Academy boss Craig Liddle doesn’t often get the credit he deserves in influencing that, as part of the interim coaching team after Wilder was sacked.
It’s fair to say the Redcar talent grasped his opportunity with both hands. He helped Boro to a 1-0 win over the Blues and a couple of weeks later netted his first senior goal - a wonderful strike in a win at Wigan Athletic.
From there, Hackney never looked back. In Michael Carrick, Boro found a combination made in heaven. An elite midfielder in his own right, Carrick was also a coach who loved developing young players. He quickly realised Hackney’s star potential.
Hackney later said of Carrick’s influence: “He’s done loads for me. He puts 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.
“He was a great player and I’m grateful to be learning from him. I think it’s more the little things - little movements, for example. He’s taught me, sometimes I don’t need to move that much to get into a bit of space.
"We’ve worked on my body position as well, so I’m set to play forward straight away. Getting on the half turn so that my second touch can be a pass forward instead of maybe taking two or three touches.”
That influence was clear to see in the player that Hackney became - Boro’s most important player for the last two seasons at least.
That body positioning when receiving the ball to then explode forward has been the cornerstone of Hackney’s game - a game that has been a genuine pleasure to watch.
The sight of Hackney gliding up the pitch with the ball at his feet, dancing past opposition players as he went, was something to behold. It will be missed, and indeed was missed in the final two months of last season.
He played with a huge smile on his face, and we all smiled watching him. Particularly last season, which was, effectively, a bonus 12 months after his decision to reject a move to Ipswich Town. It highlighted his loyalty and love of Boro.
“Having supported the club since I was a kid, it was always my dream to play at the Riverside and pull on the shirt. To captain the club as I went on to do was beyond my wildest dreams,” Hackney said in a heartfelt goodbye message to Boro fans.
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Now set for the Premier League, the message is clear: Thank you Hayden Hackney. Now go and show the Premier League what we already know on Teesside! Tommy Conway’s message summed it up perfectly.. ‘No one deserves this more’.
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