Crystal Palace eyeing £27m swoop for Middlesbrough pair - Boro supporters will want more | OneFootball

The Eagles are preparing to swoop for Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg.

Crystal Palace are reportedly lining up a £27m double transfer swoop for Middlesbrough pair Hayden Hackney, and Rav van den Berg.

Boro are entering a new era under the management of Rob Edwards, who, with his feet now under the desk, will lead the club into their first summer transfer window with him at the helm.

The former Luton Town boss inherits a squad that underperformed in the Championship last season, and is not short on talented players and highly saleable assets.

Two of Boro's biggest in both of those categories are Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg, who have both just wrapped up their respective Under-21 European Championship campaigns with England and the Netherlands respectively.

Crystal Palace readying £27m raid for Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg

Revealed in a report from The Sun on Monday morning, Crystal Palace are plotting a double transfer raid for Middlesbrough's Hackney, and Van den Berg.

Hackney has long been admired by top clubs, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Spurs and Newcastle United all having been credited with an interest in his signature in the past.

The Sun claim that the 23-year-old central midfielder is valued at £15m, with Van den Berg being rated at £12m.

Similarly to Hackney, Boro's 20-year-old central defender has also been on the radar of some of European football's biggest clubs, with the Teessiders having been reported as having beaten the likes of Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Juventus and Ajax to his signature in the summer of 2023.

Crystal Palace have seemingly been tracking the progress of the Dutch youth international ever since his arrival at the Riverside Stadium, and a recent report from The Northern Echo confirmed that they'd sent scouts to watch him at the aforementioned Under-21 European Championships.

Middlesbrough supporters will surely be demanding more than £27m for Hackney and Van den Berg

It remains to be seen how Middlesbrough's hierarchy would respond to such an approach should it land on their desk, but Boro fans will surely feel short-changed should they see two of their brightest and best young stars depart for that sum of money.

Hackney alone was reported as being valued by Middlesbrough at £25m in the most recent winter transfer window, and the recent £31m sale of Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland to Dortmund will have many Teessiders pointing towards that deal as a figure to push for when it comes to their academy graduate.

Both players have multiple years remaining on their respective contracts too, with both Hackney and Van den Berg signed up until the summer of 2027.

As such, if they are to be sold this summer, they won't be attainable on the cheap that's for sure, with Edwards sure to see both of them as playing major parts in his future plans at the Riverside.

Boro's coffers have also been boosted significantly with the recent sales of Emmanuel Latte Lath for £22.5m, and the £5m+ deal that took Josh Coburn to Millwall.

Therefore, should Hackney and Van den Berg be sold at those prices quoted by The Sun, then Middlesbrough fans will undoubtedly, and perhaps justifiably, feel that their club has been left short-changed by the Eagles.