The latest transfer talk from St James Park as Newcastle United prepare for transfer deadline day.
Almost a decade has passed since Boro last competed in the top flight but there are firmly in the race for promotion under Swedish head coach Kim Hellberg after Saturday’s narrow home win against Norwich City moved them level on points with leaders Coventry City.
Hackney has already made over 150 appearances for his boyhood club after progressing through the Boro academy system and has been a regular feature under Hellberg after the Swede was named as a successor to Rob Edwards earlier this season. Since his appointment, Hackney has provided three assists and grabbed the goal that helped see off Norwich at the Riverside Stadium this weekend and the former Hammarby boss was keen to stress just how highly he rates the midfielder after the victory.
He said: “I think he’s too good to be here. I say that in a positive way, I think he would be a top player in most of the Premier League teams with the quality he has. I think he’s everything you want in a player. First, he’s an unbelievable football player, then he wants to do everything for Middlesbrough. He’s always happy, always smiling, always working hard.
“He’s so good, but then he still works together with everyone else to make everyone happy. You cannot be more proud when you see how he fights for everyone else. He helps everyone in every training session, it doesn’t matter if it’s a young person coming up from the Under-21s, you see Hayden talking to him and pushing him. That is what you want in a captain, a leader and a player for the club. I think he’s amazing in every way.”
Several reports have claimed Newcastle are monitoring Hackney’s progress during Boro’s push for promotion but there are also suggestions Michael Carrick has urged Manchester United to launch a raid on his old club to take the academy graduate to Old Trafford. Sportsboom have claimed the former England midfielder will try to sign Hackney during the summer transfer window if he is offered a chance to become the Red Devils’ next permanent manager after stepping in to succeed Ruben Amorim on an interim basis.
Over the moon
Hayden Hackney was on the losing side but shone for Middlesbrough against Fulham.placeholder image
Hayden Hackney was on the losing side but shone for Middlesbrough against Fulham. | Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Hackney spoke about his Premier League dream after scoring in Saturday’s win against Norwich and revealed securing a return to the top tier would ‘mean everything to him’.
“This is what I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a kid - play for Middlesbrough,” explained the midfielder. “And where we are in the league at the minute, as long as we just keep going, we feel confident. Winning promotion with Middlesbrough would mean everything to me. I don’t know how I’d be, but I know I’d be over the moon. That is the dream.”
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