Crystal Palace warned they will have to pay "£15-25m" for imperfect Middlesbrough man | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has been speaking on the sort of transfer fee Boro should command for Hayden Hackney this summer.

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…

It remains to be seen whether Middlesbrough will be conducting their summer transfer business as a Premier League or Championship club, but regardless, Michael Carrick's squad is laden with sellable assets.

Boro have been enjoying the fruits of a new and improved recruitment strategy over the last few years, with it now being routine to see young, talented players turning up at the Riverside Stadium for fairly minimal fees.

Morgan Rogers and Emmanuel Latte Lath both recently netted Boro over £30m in combined pure profit, whilst the Teessiders have also gotten into the habit of poaching top players from other Championship clubs, with the likes of Tommy Conway and Morgan Whittaker most recently.

"Plenty of attributes" - Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney impact outlined

Hayden Hackney has been one of Middlesbrough's standout players since his breakthrough from Boro's academy and into the first-team picture in October 2022.

The 22-year-old central midfielder is enjoying his best goalscoring season of his career so far this term, and has even been entrusted to wear the captain's armband on numerous occasions.

As a result, Premier League side Crystal Palace are reported to have been scouting the England youth international throughout the campaign, and are weighing up a potential summer swoop.

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Jasper Hudson: 'Which one Boro player do you think you could sell for the most money in the summer? What price-tag would you put on his head?'

Hudson said: "Hackney would go for the most money in the summer should we sell him.

"He's young, he's got plenty of international experience with England U21's, and he is English, which does add to his value.

"He's homegrown, he's come through the academy, so there's lots of small things that boost his value. Especially to an English club.

"I think he's got plenty of attributes. He's a great passer of the ball, he likes to be on the ball and drive forward with it, break lines."

"£15-25m" - Price-tag placed on Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney amid Crystal Palace transfer talk

Should Middlesbrough fail to win promotion to the Premier League this season, then preventing Hackney from going there in the summer may prove hugely challenging.

Whilst there are aspects of his game that still require some fine-tuning, Hackney looks to be outgrowing Championship football, and he may well decide to call time on his spell with his boyhood club in order to take his career to the next level.

"So I think he's the player we could sell for the most money come the summer," Hudson continued.

"But in saying that, his game isn't perfect. He is prone to mistakes and yellow cards, and being clumsy at times.

"So, I think a fee in the region of £15-25m is realistic. It really depends on what happens, not only to Boro this season, but how Hackney finishes out the season.

"But if I had to guess, we're getting £20m for Latte Lath, I think for Hackney, we could come close to a deal similar to that as of right now."