Prediction issued on Hayden Hackney's Middlesbrough FC future - he "will leave" this summer | OneFootball

Hackney has been a standout for Boro and is attracting attention from top-flight clubs ahead of the transfer window

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney has been predicted to leave the Riverside Stadium this summer due to his strong form over the last season and reported transfer interest from European and Premier League clubs ahead of the upcoming window.

Hackney has been a real success story so far for Middlesbrough, after he first joined their academy at under-10 level and worked his way up to the first-team to make his professional debut in 2021.

The 22-year-old has become one of the club's top players over the last few seasons since, as a deep-lying playmaker, and he has been a regular performer in the middle of the park under Michael Carrick in the Championship, with a potential move away on the horizon after Boro failed to make the play-offs at the end of the season.

Boro fan pundit predicts Hayden Hackney summer departure amid European interest

Hackney registered five goals and three assists in 42 Championship games in 2024/25, while he was awarded Boro's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards last month for his impressive efforts throughout the campaign.

He is under-contract at the Riverside Stadium until 2027, after he signed a long-term deal in 2023, but that has not stopped potential suitors trying to secure his services in recent times.

FC Porto registered their interest in signing Hackney in January, but Middlesbrough reportedly rejected two bids from the Portuguese giants late on in the winter window, with the second approach thought to be worth around £10m.

Sky Sports have recently reported that the Primeira Liga side are set to return with a new attempt to sign the 22-year-old in the summer, while German outfit VfB Stuttgart and multiple Premier League sides are also interested in his services.

Our Boro fan pundit, Jasper Hudson, believes that Hackney will depart Teesside in the coming months, as a result of his impressive form over the last few years, with a move to a top-flight team mooted as a natural progression for his career.

“I do think Hayden Hackney will leave this summer. I think there is definitely a big offer-in-waiting for him," Jasper told FLW.

“Obviously there was some interest in January from some bigger clubs, and international clubs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves on.

“It feels right. He’s done his time, he came through and made his first start for the first-team, then has kicked on and been a key player for us for the last two years.

“I think it is probably fair if he gets his move. He has probably done enough to earn it.

“He’s not always been perfect, but he is a player that you could see playing at a higher level.”

Michael Carrick has backed Hackney to make it to the top of the game - he looks set to leave Boro soon

Redcar-born Hackney is clearly a top player who is only going to get better as time goes on, but Boro will worry right now that they are unable to match his ambitions as a player for as long as they remain in the Championship.

It will be tough for the club to keep hold of him this summer after they were unable to seal an unlikely promotion to the top-flight, and while boss Carrick will no doubt want to retain his top players like the 22-year-old, he has also praised him and backed him to keep improving in the face of numerous rumours about his future.

"It (the speculation) is understandable. It comes with the territory of playing for your country at that age group while playing for a club in the league we’re in at the moment," he told the Northern Echo in March.

"It’s only natural and we wouldn’t expect anything else. It’s never distracted him. It’s happened over a period of time really, and it’s never affected him one bit.

"I like the fact that he’s not really changed with it either. I made him captain in certain games because of how he plays, how he is, how he takes responsibility. He’s very different to others. Luke Ayling’s had it at times and then Jonny (Howson) is the club captain, and they’re all different in how they lead. I think H, it’s more the way he plays the game. He never really gets fazed.

"In a good way, you never really know if it’s going well or not because he just carries on playing and I think that’s a real strength of his to have such belief in himself.

"He’s got a real good presence about him and a calmness that rubs off on others. I think you can see how much all the boys trust him, and it’s a good thing to have at such a young age.

"He’s taken really big strides this season in the way he handles himself and how he’s matured. I think you can see that on and off the pitch, it’s just a case of keeping moving in the right direction."

Despite interest from abroad, Hackney could well end up in the Premier League next season, with Football Insider recently claiming that Crystal Palace are plotting a move for his services in the summer, while Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are also reportedly keeping tabs on his availability.

It is clear that Boro face a real fight to keep hold of their homegrown talent in the months to come, but they can, at least, take solace in the fact that he will not leave the Riverside Stadium for a small fee if he does depart, which could then be re-invested into the squad to give them a better chance of more success under Carrick.