Middlesbrough have slapped a £30 million asking price on star midfielder Hayden Hackney, with the Teesside club reluctant to sell the 23-year-old amid reported interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
Boro are targeting a return to the Premier League next season, and the January window provides a chance to strengthen areas of weakness to bolster those prospects.
Hackney has been central to the club’s push, with the season presenting their best opportunity in years to reach the top flight currently sitting second in the Championship, just six points behind Coventry City.
As he was under predecessor Rob Edwards, Hackney has been an ever-present under Swede head coach Kim Hellberg, playing a pivotal role in sustaining Boro’s promotion push.
The January window, while offering teams a chance to improve areas of weakness, also provides an opportunity for other sides to poach your best players, potentially weakening your squad.
For a side sitting in the automatic promotion places, Middlesbrough simply cannot afford to weaken this January.
Any sale of Hackney would almost certainly deal a huge dent to their promotion hopes.
Understandably, Hellberg will be one of the most reluctant people to see Hackney depart Teesside this month, with the midfielder pivotal to their ambitions.
The club are reportedly demanding a record-breaking fee to sanction any winter move.
Hackney had previously turned down a £20 million offer from Ipswich Town last summer, opting to remain with his boyhood club.
He later stated he would only consider leaving Boro for an established Premier League side.
Now, with both Spurs and Manchester United reportedly monitoring him, a move could be on the cards but only if Middlesbrough’s £30 million asking price is met.
A move to Manchester United would reunite Hackney with former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate, who oversaw his early professional development and is now a first-team coach at Old Trafford.
Hackney has started all 26 Championship games this season, underlining his importance to the side. From midfield, he has scored three goals and provided six assists, demonstrating his all-action influence and consistency.
If a £30 million bid is submitted and accepted, it would break Boro’s record for their most lucrative sale, surpassing the £22.5 million Atlanta United paid for Emmanuel Latte Lath.
For now, Hackney remains a Boro player, and unless a club meets the record-breaking valuation, he is expected to stay with Middlesbrough until at least the summer, where the club will be hoping they are playing Premier League football next season.
