Crystal Palace confident of 'agreement' for England U-21 playmaker linked with Everton and Spurs
Crystal Palace have been distracted by interest in their players so far this summer, but they are leading the race for a new midfielder.
Everton’s Premier League rivals Crystal Palace have had a quiet transfer window so far but the Eagles could be about to win the race for a Championship player being eyed by the Toffees.
The Toffees host Palace at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 4 and could get a glimpse of what they have missed on as Palace feel they are in a good position to strike an agreement with Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough. He is also being eyed by Everton as David Moyes looks to rebuild his squad after returning to Merseyside last campaign.
Last season, Palace won the FA Cup while Newcastle United won the Carabao Cup. Moyes will be hoping to celebrate similar success at Everton next term, with Palace and Newcastle showing the cup competitions can still provide an avenue for success against the Premier League big spenders. Moyes also has eyes on European qualification.
Crystal Palace confident of landing Hayden Hackney
Hackney has already tasted success this summer with England’s Under-21s as he played a key role for Lee Carsley’s side from midfield alongside Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott.
The 23-year old has been a consistent presence for Middlesbrough since making his breakthrough as a teenager but looks set to leave this summer following the departure of his mentor Michael Carrick.
Palace, according to TBR Football, are leading the chase with other Premier League teams interested in his services: “Graeme Bailey – Chief Correspondent at TBR Football – has been informed that the England U21 international and reigning UEFA Euro U21 champion is set to leave Middlesbrough this summer.
“We understand Crystal Palace have admired Hackney for a long time, and now feel an agreement is possible with the 23-year-old,” continued the report that named Everton as another suitor and Spurs as a team who scouted the playmaker last season.
What has Rob Edwards said about Hackney leaving Boro?
According to new Boro boss Rob Edwards though, Hackney isn’t going anywhere: "As far as I know and I'm aware at the moment, he's here and that's why he's out playing on the pitch," Edwards told BBC Radio Tees. "He's fully committed, he loves this football club."
Speaking after the departure of Carrick, Hackney was clearly unhappy about the change of manager after coming close to promotion on a few occasions: “But also, yeah I was gutted about Michael Carrick to be honest. He's done loads for me.
"He put his trust in me to play the majority of games and helped me so much with everything really. I can’t thank him enough for that. I text him straight away wishing him all the best in the future and he replied wishing me good luck for going away with England. It was nice.
“It's probably the first manager that I've lost and I just wanted to thank him for everything. But now a new guy will come in, whoever that may be, and as a squad we'll go from there.”
Hackney might not quite be on the same level as his old boss, however, he has learnt from one of the best and Palace could be about to benefit at Everton’s expense.