Crystal Palace warned they will have to pay “£15-25m” for imperfect Middlesbrough man
Boro have been enjoying the fruits of a new and improved recruitment strategy over the last few years, with it now being routine to see young, talented players turning up at the Riverside Stadium for fairly minimal fees.
Morgan Rogers and Emmanuel Latte Lath both recently netted Boro over £30m in combined pure profit, whilst the Teessiders have also gotten into the habit of poaching top players from other Championship clubs, with the likes of Tommy Conway and Morgan Whittaker most recently.
Hayden Hackney has been one of Middlesbrough’s standout players since his breakthrough from Boro’s academy and into the first-team picture in October 2022.
The 22-year-old central midfielder is enjoying his best goalscoring season of his career so far this term, and has even been entrusted to wear the captain’s armband on numerous occasions.
As a result, Premier League side Crystal Palace are reported to have been scouting the England youth international throughout the campaign, and are weighing up a potential summer swoop.
We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Jasper Hudson: ‘Which one Boro player do you think you could sell for the most money in the summer? What price-tag would you put on his head?’
| Hayden Hackney’s 24/25 Championship stats (as of 21 March) – per FotMob | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearances | Goals | Assists | Successful passes | Shots | Accurate long balls | Chances created | Avg. match rating |
| 35 | 5 | 2 | 2,115 | 58 | 130 | 47 | 7.3/10 |
Hudson said: “Hackney would go for the most money in the summer should we sell him.
“He’s young, he’s got plenty of international experience with England U21’s, and he is English, which does add to his value.
“He’s homegrown, he’s come through the academy, so there’s lots of small things that boost his value. Especially to an English club.
“I think he’s got plenty of attributes. He’s a great passer of the ball, he likes to be on the ball and drive forward with it, break lines.”
