Ipswich Town firm up transfer interest in Middlesbrough FC ace with £20m bid | OneFootball

The Tractor Boys are looking to pull out all the stops in order to secure Hackney's services.

Ipswich Town are preparing a stunning offer in order to lure Hayden Hackney to Portman Road from Championship rivals, Middlesbrough.

That is according to a fresh report from Alan Nixon via Patreon, with the Tractor Boys looking to offer the Teesside outfit as much as £20m for the homegrown midfielder, who has previously been linked with a move to a plethora of sides in the Premier League.

Unsurprisingly, after spending last season among the riches of the top-flight, many are tipping Kieran McKenna's side to be one of the immediate front-runners for automatic promotion alongside the likes of Leicester City, Southampton and big-spending Birmingham City.

Despite selling Liam Delap for £30m to Chelsea, Town are yet to fully flex the financial muscle they have in comparison to many of their upcoming second-tier opponents.

However, heads would be turned if the Suffolk side are able to pull off a transfer move which would be the record incoming for the Championship.

Ipswich prepare £20m transfer move for Middlesbrough FC's Hayden Hackney

Hackney has been a man in demand for quite some time, having enjoyed an initial breakthrough season under Michael Carrick in 2022/23, before becoming one of Boro's most pivotal players despite two near misses on the play-offs which followed an initial semi-final defeat to Coventry City.

The likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, FC Porto - who saw a bid rejected in January - and Crystal Palace have all been credited with interest in the 23-year-old since the turn of the year, before news broke of Ipswich's initial interest earlier in the month.

New Middlesbrough boss, Rob Edwards, outlined his stance on the transfer saga after a recent pre-season friendly against Mansfield Town of League One, stating that Hackney was "fully committed" to the cause in the North East ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign.

But, according to Nixon's aforementioned update, the Suffolk club are plotting a move which would see him move from the Riverside Stadium to Portman Road for an eye-watering £20m sum - a fee which has previously been suggested for Hackney - and that they are willing to offer a weekly salary of £35,000 per week.

Hackney, unsurprisingly, is still looking for a move to the Premier League for the first time and isn't understood to be tempted by Ipswich's offer.

However, Nixon states that no side in the division above has readied a contract offer that is similar, matches or betters that of Ipswich.

Potential Hayden Hackney move would be a statement of Ipswich Town's promotion intentions

Regardless of what the fee was, beating Premier League sides to the signature of such a highly-rated figure would always back up Ipswich's intentions of an immediate promotion.

However, it will also increase the pressure there already is on McKenna to do so.

Hackney will bring an abundance of technical ability to what is a new-look midfield at Ipswich, with Sam Morsy departing for Kuwait FC, whilst Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste saw their respective loan moves come to an end.

The Town boss recently stated that £7.8m signing, Azor Matusiwa, had the ability to feature in the Premier League after previous links to Liverpool, and placing Hackney alongside the Dutchman in the middle of the park would be a stunning combination.

According to Capology - a site which ESTIMATES player earnings, the recent Under-21 European Championships' winner takes home just £6,500 per week at his boyhood club, meaning a significant pay rise is in order, and one which would make him the joint-highest earner at Ipswich alongside Aro Muric and Dara O'Shea.