Hayden Hackney insists he won’t be leaving Middlesbrough ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline
Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough celebrates scoring(Image: Richard Lee/Shutterstock)
Hayden Hackney has given Middlesbrough a huge promotion boost, as he insisted he won’t be going anywhere ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.
In a sign of his importance to Kim Hellberg’s side, the Teessider fired Boro’s only goal as they battled hard to beat Norwich City 1-0 to move joint-top of the Championship.
It was a moment of magic from Hackney, befitting a player who is courting so much Premier League attention. Just this weekend, reports on Tyneside revealed that Newcastle United have been heavily scouting the midfield star in recent weeks.
But having rejected a move to Ipswich Town in the summer in favour of staying at his boyhood club, Hackney reiterated his dream to play for Boro and win promotion – something which his goal, and his commitment to stay, massively helps.
Hackney said after the Norwich win: “This is what I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a kid: play for Middlesbrough. 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.
“We just take it game by game, but at the minute, the squad’s looking very good. We’ve got competition all over the place. We’ll keep working hard and see where it takes us.”
Asked if that meant we shouldn’t expect any movement before the window shuts on Monday evening then, he smiled and insisted: “No. I’m really happy. The manager’s got me playing the way I enjoy playing, getting the best out of me. So yeah, I’m really enjoying it.”
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As well as Newcastle’s recent scouting, a number of Premier League sides have been paying close attention to Hackney, as he stars in Boro’s promotion push this season.
Captaining the side in all but one of Boro’s games under Kim Hellberg, he’s taken his game to another level still under the Swede, with Boro massively boosted by the Teessider’s commitment to them this month.
Boro had a hardball stance on his future heading into the January transfer window, helped by the fact their league position left Hackney believing that his promotion dream with Boro was achievable.
With just 18 months remaining on his current Boro deal, however, there’s an appreciation that Boro have to win promotion this season if they are to keep the 23-year-old beyond this season.
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