Nottingham Forest slammed for 'desperate' Hayden Hackney move as fresh Middlesbrough verdict dropped | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest had a late transfer deadline day bid for Middlesbrough star man Hayden Hackney rejected by the Championship side

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 rejected a late transfer window bid from Nottingham Forest for star player Hayden Hackney amid their aspirations of winning promotion to the Premier League.

Boro are breathing down the necks of Championship league leaders Coventry City in the title race, but they must also be wary of fellow automatic promotion contenders Hull City and Ipswich Town, who sit just below them.

Kim Hellberg's men have enjoyed four successive wins in the second tier and are set for a challenging encounter with Sheffield United, who still boast an outside chance of landing a play-off spot, this Monday.

Hackney has been a particularly valuable asset for Middlesbrough this term, scoring four goals and producing five assists in 30 league appearances.

Nottingham Forest ridiculed for deadline day bid for Middlesbrough ace Hayden Hackney

Hackney proved his class once again last Saturday, scoring a stunning goal as Hellberg's side defeated Norwich City 1-0 to go level on points with Coventry.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough turned down a bid from Forest for Hackney with just hours of the transfer window remaining.

Football League World asked our Boro fan pundit, Liam Day, what he made of the bid from Sean Dyche's side, and if he thought they had any chance of signing the creative midfielder at all.

Day told FLW: "To be honest, I think it's one of the dumbest bids I've ever seen in deadline day history, from what I can remember. It was never going to happen. If you're going to bid for him, do it very early in January so that we have plenty of time to get a replacement.

"Even then, I think it takes £30million. Apparently, what they bid is below our valuation. What that is, I don't know. I'm going to assume, probably minimum £25m. So, I don't think there was ever a chance Hayden Hackney was leaving.

"When I saw the bid, I'll be honest, I laughed. I knew it wouldn't happen, I knew it wouldn't get accepted. It was stupid of them. It seemed kind of desperate from them, in my opinion. I don't think there was ever a chance of that happening. I was never worried about it, and it was a very, very silly thing for them to do."

Middlesbrough rejecting Nottingham Forest bid was the right outcome for Hayden Hackney

Boro's decision to block Forest's advances for Hackney was the right decision for the Riverside Stadium outfit to make amid their promotion bid, above all.

Meanwhile, the midfielder himself has already notched a career-best return of five goals and five assists this term, and is best-served by remaining a Middlesbrough player.

The 23-year-old is still developing, so joining Forest, who are in the Premier League relegation battle, may not have handed him a great environment.