Middlesbrough star 'ready' for the Premier League amid Everton and Nottingham Forest interest
A former Premier League star has delivered his verdict on the future of Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney.
Former Sunderland and West Ham United midfielder Don Hutchison believes Hayden Hackney will ‘already feel like a Premier League player’ as doubt remains over over his future at Middlesbrough.
The academy product has become an integral figure within the Boro squad in recent seasons and enjoyed his most productive season to date last time out when he scored six goals and provided eight assists in 41 appearances in all competitions. Hackney’s importance to the Boro side was shown during a seven-week absence caused by a calf injury suffered in a home draw with Bristol City in mid-March.
Boro won just two of their following eight games and slipped out of the automatic promotion place as champions Coventry City and runners-up Ipswich Town secured a spot in the Premier League. There was further agony in the play-off final as Hackney made an appearance as a second-half substitute as an Oli McBurnie goal helped Hull City land a place in the top flight at the expense of Kim Hellberg’s side.
Hackney’s future at the Riverside was already the subject of intense speculation prior to the final with the likes of Nottingham Forest, Everton and West Ham United all said to be keen on securing his services during the summer transfer window as he enters the final 12 months of his Boro deal - and Hutchison believes there is no reason why the midfielder can’t step into the top flight if he is offered the opportunity over the coming weeks and months.
Speaking to Spreadex Sports, the former Scotland midfielder said: “I was in the same situation as Hayden (Hackney) when I was relegated with Sheffield United in 1997, after losing the play-off final against Crystal Palace. Howard Kendall left Bramall Lane that summer to manage Everton, and I followed him later the next season. That’s the nature of the beast when you play for a team that fails to earn promotion, or that suffers relegation – you lose your best players.
“At that point in my career, I already felt like a Premier league player and Hayden may feel the same. As long as he has the right mindset, he undoubtedly has the ability, he can become a Premier League player if an offer presents itself this summer. He can definitely make the step up.”