Hayden Hackney reacts to Middlesbrough player exit | OneFootball

The former Boro midfielder has reacted to the departure of Seny Dieng.

There’s been somewhat of a rebuild at Middlesbrough this summer, with the Teesside extremely busy during the summer transfer window so far.

Kim Hellberg’s side have currently brought nine new players into the building to attack the new Championship season after falling just shy of promotion back to the Premier League last term, with the additions of Will Lankshear and Ash Phillips the standouts.

In an attempt to keep the books as balanced as possible, Middlesbrough have also sanctioned nine departures from the Riverside Stadium too, with one of the more recent ones that of goalkeeper Seny Dieng.

The shot-stopper has left Middlesbrough after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent, allowing him to join Greek Super League side Atromitos on a free transfer.

Dieng had not played for Middlesbrough since December 2024, so it isn’t a big surprise to see his stay at Boro come to an end, particularly when the club had bolstered that department this summer in the form of Radek Vitek.

Since his exit from Teesside, Dieng has posted a goodbye message to Middlesbrough supporters, with former star Hayden Hackney reacting to it.

Seny Dieng’s Middlesbrough career

Seny Dieng, a £2.2m arrival from QPR in July 2023, ended up making 52 appearances in total for the club, with the most playing time coming in his debut 2023-24 season when he played 35 times.

The following season would restrict him to just 17 appearances as injury issues played a big part in his lack of minutes, before being loaned out the following season to Sheffield Wednesday and playing just three times at Hillsborough.

Dieng would never represent Boro again from December 2024 onwards, with his departure from the Riverside Stadium seen as long overdue.

Hayden Hackney reacts to Seny Dieng departure

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Despite going through a tough period in his career at Middlesbrough, Seny Dieng took to Instagram to pen an exit message to the club and supporters.

In a post, it read: "Thanks to all coaches, players, fans and everyone at @theboroofficial for my time at the club and I wish you all the best for the season🙏🏽⚽️."

Flooding the comments section were ex-colleagues from his time at Middlesbrough, including Hayden Hackney, who departed the club himself earlier this summer to move to Premier League outfit Everton.

In the comments, Hackney posted two red heart emojis, signalling his good luck wishes to Dieng as he starts a new chapter of his career in Greece.

How Middlesbrough fans have reacted to Seny Dieng’s exit

After failing to feature for over a year and a half at Middlesbrough, supporters are bound to be relieved that Seny Dieng has finally been taken off the books.

Glen is one Boro fan who is definitely glad to see the back of the goalkeeper.

Bob is another supporter pleased to see his exit.

Meanwhile, another Boro fan is amazed at how long Dieng managed to remain at the club for.

There was some sympathy from some supporters though, with Jordan wishing him good luck and urging other fans not to speculate on what brought about his downfall at the club.

This has been a departure that has been long awaited, with Seny Dieng clearly not in favour under Kim Hellberg and needing to move away for the benefit of everyone.

A quality Championship shot-stopper on his day, it’s puzzling to see where it all went wrong for the 31-year-old at the Riverside Stadium, but he can at least put this forgettable experience behind him and concentrate on playing regularly over in Greece.

Middlesbrough are already well-placed in the goalkeeping department heading into the new season, with Radek Vitek and Sol Brynn more than decent options to call upon at second tier level, and the club can hopefully now attack the summer transfer window with further additions now that the wage bill has been freed up through Dieng’s exit.

Overall, it’s a move that was right for all parties, with Middlesbrough gaining some extra freedom on their wage bill, while Dieng will hope to play regularly and get back to his best in his latest venture.