Hayden Hackney left Middlesbrough for Everton this week
12:00, 05 Jul 2026
Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney
Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney
A football finance expert believes the £25 million fee Middlesbrough have received for Hayden Hackney is about right in terms of market value.
Boro sold their homegrown star to Premier League side Everton this week, and are understood to be getting around £17m of the fee up front. They also included a sell-on fee clause in the deal.
Rob Wilson, Professor of Applied Sport Finance at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) believes the fee Boro received meets what he would consider Hackney’s market value.
Boro rejected three offers from Everton before eventually agreeing a deal. And while Wilson feels Boro have done well to receive the fee they did for a player in the final year of his contract, he feels Everton have also done well to recognise a market opportunity.
Wilson, speaking via the Betting Lounge, said: “For the clubs who know where to find value, there are still bargains to be had too. Hayden Hackney at £25 million feels right given his profile, age, the English premium and his performances for Middlesbrough in the Championship. He could be the steal of the summer.”
We also asked our fan panel, which consists of Youtube analyst Phil Spencer, Boro Breakdown co-host Dana Malt, Boropolis co-founder Chris Cassidy and Twe12th Man member John Donovan, their thoughts on Hackney's sale.
Dana Malt
It’s a shame, because ultimately if Boro had won in the play-off final, he’d still be here gearing up for a season in the Premier League with his hometown club.
As soon as the final whistle went at Wembley though, his departure became even more inevitable than it already felt. With that in mind, it doesn’t sting as much. I’d already gone through the emotions of him leaving when Ipswich came knocking and Boro accepted their bid. After that, I was just happy he was still a Middlesbrough player.
I do think Boro got the best deal they could have given the fact Hackney had one year left on his deal. Boro have benefitted, and will continue to benefit, from add-ons and clauses placed in departing transfers, with Djed Spence and Morgan Rogers being two examples. I think that is particularly important here given the lower up-front fee.
As well, Hackney leaving closer to the start of the window gives Boro an abundance of time to replace him and strengthen the squad. We’ve seen too many key players depart either mid-season or towards the end of the window, so that is welcomed timing in an otherwise unwelcomed departure.
Chris Cassidy
Middlesbrough have ultimately just lost one of the best players in the Championship. That in itself would be a kick in the teeth for any team, but Hayden Hackney’s exit is more than just that.
Boro are not only losing a brilliant footballer, they’re also losing one of their own and their talisman for large parts of last season. Another season when they were nearly men.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good deal for all parties, but it’s yet another reminder of the reality of failing to get out of this division. We’ll never know if Hackney would have stayed if Kim Hellberg’s team had got over the line against Hull, but that question mark still adds to the disappointment.
As always, I’m confident a large chunk of the money will be reinvested, and it’s great to see Boro have been able to include a sell-on clause.
Considering Hackney’s preference was so publicly known and he’d entered the last year of his deal, the club wasn't exactly in the strongest of positions to negotiate; they still, however, got their asking price in the end.
I think it could be argued that Boro became a little bit too reliant on Hackney at times, so perhaps adding a more rounded midfielder as his replacement might benefit the team as a whole.
It’s never easy to see such a successful academy graduate move on, and it would be a travesty if the club lost both Hackney and Dael Fry in the same window. There was an acceptance as soon as the final whistle was blown at Wembley about Hayden, though, and I wish him all the very best moving forwards.
John Donovan
It was tough to see Hayden Hackney in an Everton shirt after his move to the Hill Dickinson stadium, but it's only what he deserves after his performances in the Championship. My biggest regret was not seeing him playing in the Premier League in a Boro strip.
The reported fee of around £17m up front is, in my opinion, a little bit low for the Championship player of the season. With add ons the total fee could rise to £25m. I understand that he was in his final year at Boro, but a minimum fee of £20m wouldn't have been outrageous.
Hopefully the add-ons can be fulfilled and I'm happy that we have inserted a healthy sell-on percentage as seems to be the norm nowadays.
As gutted as I am to see him leave, I wish him all the best at Everton, and I hope he continues to improve and becomes established in the Premier League and makes the full England squad.
Phil Spencer
There's no doubting that seeing Hayden Hackney in an Everton shirt stung more than I thought it would, but there's no doubt that it's the right thing all round.
Hackney has certainly earned his chance in the Premier League - in truth, he was ready 12 months ago but opted to stay with Middlesbrough to give us one final crack at getting to the Premier League with him on board. Unfortunately that couldn't happen and so his exit was inevitable.
What's brilliant is that I haven't seen a single comment from fans being bitter or negative towards Hackney. It's universally accepted amongst fans that he has earned this opportunity with Everton and is fully deserving of the chance to challenge himself. He goes with the well wishes of everybody around the club.
For me, the deal is a good one for Middlesbrough. There has to be a degree of reality in that Hackney is now 24 years of age, approaching his prime years, and with just a year left on his contract. As a result, it always felt like there would be a cap of £20million-ish for a player of his profile.
With that in mind, Boro have done very well to get around £17million up front, plus add-ons to take it to £25m. We have done exceptionally well with these deals in previous years with Djed Spence and Morgan Rogers' moves benefiting us hugely, while we'll surely see similar from Rav van den Berg, Marcus Tavernier and maybe even Finn Azaz in the future.
The hope will be that this deal offers great value in the short-term and the long-term. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see Hackney move on to an elite club in the next year or two and if that happens, Boro will be rubbing their hands together.
All in all, it feels like the right deal at the right time. The fact that it has been completed early in the summer is good for everybody and means that Boro now have the chance to focus on life after Hackney and ensuring that we use some of that money to build the team ahead of the new season.
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As well as hearing their views on particular Boro topics on Teesside Live each week, you can also hear from them further on their respective platforms.
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Phil Spencer runs his own Youtube channel Bonkers For Boro, which you can subscribe to here. Chris Cassidy is part of the Boropolis Podcast,* Dana Malt is part of the Boro Breakdown Podcast, and John Donovan is part *of the Twe12th Man Podcast, all of which you can listen to on all major podcast outlets.
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