Hackney enhanced his fast-growing reputation with a fine first goal for England's Under-21s in Monday night's 4-2 win over Portugal at the Hawthorns.
The Teessider was wanted by Porto in January, with the European giants having offers knocked back for the 21-year-old.
And the transfer speculation has only ramped up in recent weeks, with Manchester United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all linked with Hackney.
[Boro](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough/) will be desperate to keep Hackney in the summer but their resolve will inevitably be tested should they fail to win promotion to the Premier League. And Hackney would have a decision to make if Boro were facing another year in the Championship.
But for the proud Teessider, the dream scenario is reaching - and playing in - the top flight with the club he's supported since he was a boy.
"That is the dream," he said.
"I know I say it a lot but that is the ultimate dream.
"To take Boro to the Premier League, that would be everything that I wish for as a kid. And then to play with Boro in the Premier League would be unbelievable."
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To get there, Boro need to first force their way into the Championship's top six, which they currently trail by three points ahead of Saturday's visit of Oxford United, the first of their eight remaining games this season.
After impressing for England, Hackney is now back at Rockliffe and his attention is firmly on Boro's challenges ahead.
Hackney has captained Boro on several occasions this season and enjoyed a rapid rise since his breakthrough two-and-a-half years ago.
He's not the only one who has quickly developed at Boro, with the likes of Morgan Rogers, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Rav van den Berg having all impressively progressed their game.
Hackney said: "It's a relatively young team. We've got the manager who trusts in young players and who's going to put them in the starting 11 and let them express themselves.
"And I think everything, just the training ground, obviously we have top facilities, everything has a really nice touch for young lads to come in and it's easy for them to get used to the place and then to perform on a match day."
While the January signings have had something of a mixed start at the Riverside, Hackney pointed to the fact that Boro were able to win the battle for in-demand Morgan Whittaker and appealed to Samuel Iling-Junior, who was playing in the Champions League in the first half of the season.
He said: "Morgan has come in and done really well. He settled in the group really, really quickly and performs at the weekend. Sam as well.
"It's definitely a place for young players to come in and kick on."