Manchester United are weighing up a remarkable late attempt to sign Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough, despite a deal having been agreed for the star to head elsewhere, as per reports.
Hackney is a 23-year-old midfielder who came through the Boro academy before making his first-team debut in January 2021. Either side of a loan spell at Scunthorpe United he has made 113 appearances for Boro, registering 10 goals and nine assists in that time.
Hackney is a versatile midfielder who can operate in any of the No 6, No 8 or No 10 roles. He is viewed as one of the best young players in the Championship and has won 13 caps for England U21s.
Hackney has long been tipped to make the step up to the Premier League and that transfer could finally happen this summer.
According to various sources including Sky Sports and the Northern Echo, Ipswich Town have had a £20million bid for the player accepted by Boro.
Ipswich are aiming to compete for immediate promotion back to the Premier League, and they could reinvest some of the money from Liam Delap’s sale by landing Hackney.
But the deal is not as straightforward as previously thought. According to GiveMeSport, Ipswich are at risk of losing out on Hackney to Man Utd.
Ruben Amorim’s side are ‘considering a last-ditch move to hijack Ipswich’s deal’ and take Hackney to Old Trafford.
Amorim and Man Utd ‘have been given hope of signing Hackney as he has refused to rush into a medical’ at Ipswich.
Boro have given him the ‘green light’ to hold contract talks with Ipswich, though he is stalling on the move after ‘being made aware of additional interest from elsewhere’.
Both United and Tottenham Hotspur are big admirers of Hackney, having scouted him on several occasions over the past two years, and could ‘put offers on the table’ to disrupt Ipswich’s move.
The two Premier League giants see a £20m deal for him as ‘good value’ given his great potential and extensive Championship experience.
Ipswich face Man Utd, Tottenham threat
Ipswich remain frontrunners to land Hackney at the time of writing, but that could swiftly change. He would love to play in the Premier League for the first time and both United and Spurs could offer him that opportunity.
Plus, joining United or Spurs would be a more glamorous move for Hackney than signing for Ipswich.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants United to land the best young British players around and Hackney fits into that category.
United are on the hunt for midfield recruits as they prepare for life after Casemiro, while they have also allowed Christian Eriksen to leave on a free transfer.
Although, centre-forward is Amorim’s current priority as he wants a new goalscorer to either replace or compete with Rasmus Hojlund…