Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit drops worrying Hayden Hackney, Middlesbrough FC prediction | OneFootball

Hayden Hackney has been linked with a move away from Boro ahead of the transfer window

Former footballer and current Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes that Middlesbrough will have to sell key midfielder Hayden Hackney in the upcoming transfer window if they are unable to win promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs this season, with European clubs FC Porto and VfB Stuttgart both reportedly interested in his services.

Central midfielder Hackney has been a real success story so far for Middlesbrough, after he first joined their academy at under-10 level and worked his way up to the first-team to make his professional debut in 2021.

The 22-year-old has become one of the club's top players over the last few seasons since, as a deep-lying playmaker, and he has been a regular performer in the middle of the park under Michael Carrick in the Championship, with a potential move away on the horizon if they remain in the second-tier for next season.

Lee Hendrie backs Hayden Hackney for summer move on Middlesbrough promotion condition

Hackney has registered five goals and three assists in 42 Championship games so far this term, while he was awarded Boro's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season awards last week for his impressive efforts throughout the campaign.

He is in-contract at the Riverside Stadium until 2027, after he signed a long-term contract in 2023, but that has not stopped potential suitors trying to secure his services in recent times.

FC Porto registered their interest in signing Hackney in January, but Middlesbrough reportedly rejected two bids from the Portuguese giants late on in the winter window, with the second approach thought to be worth around £10m.

Sky Sports have recently reported that the Primeira Liga side are set to return with a new attempt to sign the 22-year-old in the summer, while German outfit VfB Stuttgart and multiple Premier League sides are also interested in his services.

Boro need a win at Coventry City and other results to go their way to finish in the play-offs on the final day of the Championship season this weekend, and ex-professional player and current EFL pundit Lee Hendrie has predicted Hackney to depart Teesside in the months to come if they are unable to, not only seal a top-six place, but also reach the Premier League for 2025/26.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Hendrie said: “Hayden Hackney has been linked to everyone…Stuttgart and Porto are among those clubs.

“Is it inevitable that if Boro don’t win promotion, he will go to one of those top teams? Do you know something, it has to happen, doesn’t it, unfortunately.

“Boro fans won’t want to hear me saying that, or anyone saying that, because they want to keep their big players.

“But, if you’ve been at a football club and you’ve led by example, which Hayden Hackney has, and the very, very good player he is on top of that, there’s no wonder that big clubs are starting to look around and see if they can take him away.

“And why wouldn’t he think of being in, maybe a Premier League side, or a top European league? He has got bags of potential.

“Unfortunately, if Boro don’t get those play-offs and don’t go up, then I think that they will lose Hayden Hackney, because he is just a key asset to them.”

Michael Carrick has backed Hackney to make it to the top of the game - he looks set to leave Boro soon

Redcar-born Hackney is clearly a top player who is only going to get better as time goes on, but Boro will worry right now that they are unable to match his ambitions as a player for as long as they remain in the Championship.

It will be tough for the club to keep hold of him this summer if they do not seal an unlikely promotion to the top-flight, and while boss Carrick will no doubt want to retain his top players like the 22-year-old, he has also praised him and backed him to keep improving in the face of numerous rumours about his future.

"It (the speculation) is understandable. It comes with the territory of playing for your country at that age group while playing for a club in the league we’re in at the moment," he told the Northern Echo in March.

"It’s only natural and we wouldn’t expect anything else. It’s never distracted him. It’s happened over a period of time really, and it’s never affected him one bit.

"I like the fact that he’s not really changed with it either. I made him captain in certain games because of how he plays, how he is, how he takes responsibility. He’s very different to others. Luke Ayling’s had it at times and then Jonny (Howson) is the club captain, and they’re all different in how they lead. I think H, it’s more the way he plays the game. He never really gets fazed.

"In a good way, you never really know if it’s going well or not because he just carries on playing and I think that’s a real strength of his to have such belief in himself.

"He’s got a real good presence about him and a calmness that rubs off on others. I think you can see how much all the boys trust him, and it’s a good thing to have at such a young age.

"He’s taken really big strides this season in the way he handles himself and how he’s matured. I think you can see that on and off the pitch, it’s just a case of keeping moving in the right direction."

Hackney could well end up in the Premier League next season regardless of Boro's league status, with Football Insider recently claiming that Crystal Palace are plotting a move for his services in the summer, while Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are also reportedly keeping tabs on his availability.

It is clear that Boro face a real fight to keep hold of their homegrown talent in the months to come, but they can, at least, take solace in the fact that he will not leave the Riverside Stadium for a small fee if he does depart, which could then be re-invested into the squad to give them a better chance of more success under Carrick.