Man Utd may be on red alert for Carlos Baleba alternative as Middlesbrough star seeks exit | OneFootball

Hayden Hackney wants to quit Middlesbrough this summer if a Premier League club is interested, and one of the biggest of all might be among them.

There will be disappointment on Teesside with the news that Hayden Hackney wants to leave Middlesbrough if a Premier League club comes in for him, and one of the biggest of them all could be among those on alert.

Middlesbrough have had an excellent start to their 2025-26 season in the Championship, with a perfect start of three wins out of three so far. But a significant problem has presented itself with the news that their much-in-demand midfielder Hayden Hackney wants to leave the club in this summer's transfer window, should an offer come in from a Premier League club.

It had only just been reported that Boro had decided that they would not be listening to any offers for Hackney in this transfer window, so this news will come as a considerable disappointment to supporters. But for the player himself, there could be plenty of options and plenty of interest, and among those who could be persuaded to look at him are one of the biggest clubs on the planet.

Manchester United could be alerted to Hayden Hackney's availability after Carlos Baleba miss

Manchester United's 2025-26 season hasn't started in a brilliant manner, with a single point from their first two League games of the season, no goals from open play, and criticism of head coach Ruben Amorim already starting to build. And one of the biggest criticisms of them over the summer has been their focus in the transfer market on attacking players rather than midfielders, even though they've been short in the middle of the pitch for a while.

United have been linked to the Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, and he would certainly be their preferred solution. But Brighton don't want to sell, and with their price tag being north of £100 million, he's not a player that United can really afford at the moment, given the drop in revenues that they'll be experiencing this season as a result of not qualifying for European football and their lowly 15th-placed finish in the Premier League.

But if Baleba is out of their current price range, Hayden Hackney might well not be. Middlesbrough were looking at offers in the region of £20 million for the player earlier in the summer, including one from Ipswich Town which collapsed because the player himself didn't want to go to Portman Road.

Hayden Hackney could offer an answer to Manchester United's midfield woes

Were Manchester United to go in for Hayden Hackney before the transfer window closes this summer, it wouldn't be the first time that they've had an interest in the player reported this summer. At the start of August, Give Me Sport reported that United could be plotting a hijack of the sale to Ipswich before Hackney rejected the move to Portman Road.

And there's little question that Manchester United need reinforcement in midfield. Both of their Premier League matches so far this season have looked very much like the latter stages of last season, with a lack of creativity in the middle of the pitch limiting their attacking chances. The heatmaps for the two players are strikingly similar, and while Bruno's raw numbers are better than Hackney's, he is an established international starter rather than a 23-year-old who's never kicked a ball in the Premier League.

This problem could be about to get all the more immediate. The Athletic has reported that United have been looking all summer at replacements for talismanic midfielder and captain Bruno Fernandes, who has been subject to bids from Saudi Arabia - though the current smart money would go on him not leaving the club before next summer on account of the World Cup - while Kobbie Mainoo also seems to be considered surplus to requirements at Old Trafford and could be on his way out of the door before next Monday's transfer deadline as well.

There would be risks, for Hackney. There are few clubs at which the pressure is higher than at Manchester United, and it's hardly as though the club have a very good reputation for improving the players that they've signed over the last decade or so. But the counter-argument to this is obvious; this is Manchester United, who are among the most famous and storied football clubs on the planet. Were they to make an offer for him, it might be the only one he gets from them, and he could regret turning them down at leisure.

This would be a huge disappointment for Middlesbrough supporters, who've enjoyed a successful start to the new season. Hackney is a local lad and a product of their academy. They will feel that he could stay with them and be playing Premier League football next season, if they can maintain the sort of form that they've enjoyed at the start of this season.

But the reality of the professional game is that the vast majority of players outside the Premier League wish they were playing at that level, and Hayden Hackney appears to be no exception to this rule. No matter what amount of money Boro might get for him, they'll surely miss him enormously, should he leave in the next few days.