Middlesbrough eyeing up Crystal Palace player as Hayden Hackney transfer talk swirls | OneFootball

A young Eagles midfielder with Championship experience is on Boro's radar

Having looked so close to promotion to the Premier League at multiple stages of last season, the fact that Middlesbrough still find themselves as a Championship club will be agonising to supporters.

Boro occupied second place in the table for the majority of the campaign before a poor run of results towards the end meant that they finished fifth and had to settle for the Championship play-offs.

After being beaten 2-1 by Southampton on aggregate in the play-offs, Kim Hellberg's team were given another chance to secure promotion as the Saints were expelled on the back of the Spygate scandal. However, they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City at Wembley.

Now, the Teeside club will be looking to go again in what looks set to be a more competitive Championship this season. In order to ensure they finish towards the top end of the table though, they will need some reinforcements.

Middlesbrough are looking into David Ozoh transfer deal

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According to Alan Nixon on Patreon, Middlesbrough are showing an interest in former Derby County loanee David Ozoh, who has returned to parent club Crystal Palace following his stint at Pride Park.

The defensive midfielder made 33 appearances in the Championship last term for the Rams with a thigh injury midway through disrupting his campaign.

It was Ozoh's second loan spell at Pride Park, having also spent the 2024/25 season in the East Midlands. In total, he made 47 appearances with last term being far more productive.

The 21-year-old was popular at Pride Park, but it looks as though new Eagles manager Pierre Sage won't be giving the midfielder a chance to prove his worth ahead of the Premier League and Europa League campaign, with Nixon reporting that the south London club could either send the midfielder out on loan again or cash in, with just one year remaining on his deal at Selhurst Park.

David Ozoh could become part of Hayden Hackney swap bid for Crystal Palace

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Nixon's report states that Middlesbrough could use their interest in Ozoh when negotiating around a move for star midfielder Hayden Hackney, who has been subject to strong interest from both Palace and Everton already this summer.

Boro look resigned to losing the 23-year-old at some point this summer but are reportedly demanding a fee of around £25million for the midfielder.

Hackey played almost every minute of Middlesbrough's regular campaign before suffering an injury that ruled him out of the final eight league matches and both legs of the play-off semi-final against Southampton. He made his return off the bench in the final defeat to Hull.

At just 23, the midfielder also captained Boro on a handful of occasions and became a truly invaluable part of Hellberg's squad.

However, if the Teesside outfit do end up selling their star player, Ozoh could prove to be a shrewd replacement. Additionally, the ball is in Middlesbrough's court if they want to use their interest to their advantage when negotiating with Palace over a move for Hackney.

The Palace youth product has made 13 senior appearances for the Eagles but doesn't look to be in their immediate plans and may subsequently have to depart once again for regular football.

If Boro can land a deal where they receive a significant transfer fee for Hackney, as well as the services of Ozoh, surely there can be few complaints.