The summer signing is expected to get his first minutes at Stoke City - they will come with David Moyes in need of midfield options
Hayden Hackney during the Everton pre-season training trip to Scotland on July 13, 2026
Hayden Hackney during the Everton pre-season training trip to Scotland on July 13, 2026(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC/SmartFrame)
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Hayden Hackney’s first involvement in an Everton shirt is set to come at a welcome time for the Blues.
The summer signing is yet to feature in pre-season, with the club stating his absences against Dundee and Bolton Wanderers were due to continued efforts to bed him into his new squad. A desire not to rush him into action after he missed much of the final stages of last season is also behind the caution to date.
Everton said the 24-year-old was expected to be involved at Stoke City on Tuesday night, however. The first glimpse of the £16.5m signing from Middlesbrough will provide a boost to David Moyes and the Blues camp after an injury to James Garner cast a shadow over the match against Bolton.
Garner, who emerged as a standout player last season, underwent groin surgery last week after a minor issue came to light following the start of pre-season. There is a belief he could be back in first team training by the time Everton start their Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium on August 22.
But the prospect of one of Everton’s most important players missing an entire pre-season is a frustrating one and Moyes will have to build towards the campaign with a new-look midfield. With Idrissa Gueye’s departure also confirmed last week, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is set to be the only member of Everton’s first-choice, three-man midfield to be involved across the coming weeks.
Against that backdrop, the integration of Hackney would be crucial.
Everton do have other options in the middle - Harrison Armstrong and Tim Iroegbunam have started both friendlies so far, while Merlin Rohl has also been involved, though typically as a makeshift option on the right of the defence.
The manner of Everton’s pursuit of Hackney - a player they moved for early this summer - suggests the Championship player of the year is viewed as an important part of the group the club is trying to piece together this summer.
While there will be an eagerness to be patient with him - as there will be with centre back Jarrad Branthwaite, another key player being managed after his return from injury - there will be hope that Hackney will be in a position to make an impression from the start of the new season.
That journey looks set to begin at Stoke.