How much of a pay rise Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney will get if he joins Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney could soon be on his way to Ipswich Town, and he could be due a big pay rise should he make that switch.

Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney could be on his way to Ipswich, and he could be due a significant financial windfall should he make that switch.

Hayden Hackney has drawn a lot of attention this summer, as part of the England under-21 squad which won the European Championships.

But amid reported interest from Premier League clubs, the most persistent interest in him has come from another Championship club.

Ipswich Town were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season and, with Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips having returned to their parent clubs Napoli and Manchester City respectively, they have work that needs doing on their central midfield.

Hayden Hackney certainly fits the bill for the position that they want to fill at Portman Road, and they seem prepared to pay a lot of money to make it happen, all of which would amount to a significant wage increase for the 23-year-old midfielder.

Moving to Ipswich would mean a more than five-fold increase in Hackney's basic wage

Journalist Alan Nixon has reported that Ipswich are prepared to offer Hackney a staggering £35,000-a-week to make the move to Portman Road, and that while Hackney would prefer a move to the Premier League, the amount of money being offered to go there could turn his head.

Nixon has reported that there are no offers on the table from Premier League clubs that match Ipswich's offer to the player.

And the size of the pay increase that he could be due is startling.

Capology estimate that Hackney's current wage at Middlesbrough is £6,500-a-week, meaning that making that sideways move to Portman Road would amount to a more than five-fold wage increase for the player.

Even a five-fold wage increase wouldn't put Hackney near the Championship's top ten earners

If Hayden Hackney does make the switch to Ipswich, he will join the upper end of Championship earners, but such is the nature of the division these days that he wouldn't make the top ten - or even the top twenty - best-paid players in the division.

Nine of the ten best-paid players in the division earn twice what Ipswich are reported to be offering him, and all ten are concentrated at two clubs. Leicester's current financial predicament is clear from the fact that they have seven players on their books who are earning £60,000-a-week or more. It's very clear, why relegation from the Premier League was such a disaster for the Foxes.

But Hackney would become among Ipswich's highest-earners were he to join them. And, of course, any criticism levelled at him for making a sideways move rather than moving to a Premier League club would be nullified were Ipswich themselves to return to the Premier League at the end of the 2025-26 season.

At 23 years of age, it's time for Hayden Hackney to start realising his potential as a player. He may have been in the England under-21 squad this summer, but this was as an over-age player, and he still hasn't played Premier League football yet.

But realising his potential means earnings as well as playing the game itself, and a move to Ipswich would offer him a significant pay increase and a pathway to Premier League football that would in part be down to him to achieve. It could prove to be a sensible step for an ambitious young player to take.