Middlesbrough FC will hope to repeat Sunderland, Jobe Bellingham transfer trick - one big issue remains | OneFootball

Sunderland are set to bank a big transfer fee for Jobe Bellingham, and Boro should be paying close attention to that situation.

Sunderland have concluded a £30m+ deal with Borussia Dortmund for the sale of Jobe Bellingham, and Middlesbrough should be paying close attention to that transfer when it comes to Hayden Hackney.

It's understood that the Black Cats will bank an initial fee of £27.8m from Dortmund, with a further £4.2m in add-ons also being negotiated into the deal.

As such, the Sunderland star will now follow in his brother's footsteps by making the move to the Bundesliga outfit, in what will be a major blow to the Wearsiders as they prepare for their first season back in the Premier League since 2017.

However, their North East rivals, Middlesbrough, should also be paying very close attention to this big-money transfer, as they have their own central midfield gem that could be on the move this summer: Hayden Hackney.

Middlesbrough should see Jobe Bellingham fee as Hayden Hackney guide price

Having emerged from Middlesbrough's academy system and into a full-time starring role in the first-team in October 2022, Hackney has established himself as one of the brightest young talents in the EFL over the last few years.

The Redcar-born central midfielder is entering the summer fresh off the back of arguably his best season so far in a Boro shirt, having bagged five goals and three assists from 43 Championship games in 2024/25.

As a result, word of his exploits and talent hasn't gone unnoticed, with Premier League clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Spurs, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace all having been credited with an interest in him previously.

He's also garnered interest across the continent too, with German side Stuttgart and Portuguese giants Porto also being strongly linked with a move for him, with the latter even seeing a £10m bid for him rejected in the winter window.

So, how does this link into Bellingham's £30m+ sale to Borussia Dortmund? Well, there is compelling evidence to suggest that Hackney has just recorded a better individual season in the Championship than the Sunderland star.

Boro's midfielder scored more goals, created more chances, took more shots, and recorded better numbers than Bellingham in pretty much every key attacking metric in the Championship last season - per FotMob.

The Sunderland man did record slightly better numbers in a couple of defensive metrics, but there will be many, especially on Teesside, that will argue that Hackney is just as good, if not slightly better, than Bellingham is at this moment in time.

However, there seems to be a consensus among those in the know and across media outlets, that Hackney's price range may well fall in the £20-25m range.

Indeed, GIVEMESPORT revealed that Boro had slapped a £25m price tag on him during the recent winter window, which should be viewed as a real premium figure too when you consider clubs tend to increase their asking price for their star players at that time of the season.

Middlesbrough may not bank as much on Hackney as Sunderland have with Bellingham for one key reason

However, there is an obvious elephant in the room regarding why Sunderland have been able to command such a significant fee for Bellingham, and why Boro may not be able to match it with any Hackney sale: Premier League football.

There's a reason why they call the Championship play-off final the 'richest game in football', and that's because the winner enjoys the riches of top flight football, with the BBC detailing a £220m minimum of extra income for the victors.

As a result, Sunderland AFC are now in a position where they won't be under any real pressure to sell unless they receive an eye-watering bid, something which they can elicit from clubs given their newfound fortune.

Middlesbrough, on the other hand, don't have that luxury, and until they do, they will find it considerably tougher to drive up the price of their star players as long as they remain a Championship club.

Therefore, whilst Boro fans may well feel shortchanged if Hackney is sold for less than the fee received by Sunderland for Bellingham this summer, the reality is that they aren't in as strong a selling position as their Wearside rivals, and that may well cost them millions.