Middlesbrough fans are probably not to enamored with Tottenham Hotspur currently amid their persistent links to Hayden Hackney.
The Boro academy product has been in sensational form for the last 12 months or so and this has attracted transfer interest.
Hayden Hackney was named as the ‘driving force’ behind Middlesbrough’s good form prior to the October international break.
That run saw the midfielder scoring in back-to-back Championship games, including the winner in the victory over a West Bromwich Albion side who were top of the table at the time.
Following his excellent showing against West Brom, Aston Villa were linked with a move for Hackney.
Unai Emery’s Villa are not the only side to have been credited with an interest in the England U21 international, however.
Tottenham Hotspur were tipped to make a move for Hackney at the end of the 2023/24 season.
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Those links did not stop and continued throughout much of the 2024 summer transfer window.
Back in August, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest both scouted Hackney, with fans no doubt fearing he would be sold.
No move came to pass with Steve Gibson keen for Middlesbrough to keep hold of all their top stars.
But with the winter window approaching, fans likely expected the north London club’s interest to re-emerge.
However, recent comments from manager Ange Postecoglou, as per football.london, suggest that will not be the case.
Speaking recently, Postecoglou suggested that while his side lack maturity and leadership, he thinks it is ‘better’ to stick with his current players, rather than trying to buy more stars.
He said: “We’re struggling in difficult moments because we lack some maturity and leadership. Now, there’s two ways of dealing with that. You can either go and buy it, acquire it, or you can wait for it to develop within your own group. We’ve gone down this way because I think that’s the better way for me. But with that process, it takes time and experience.
“You’ve got to go through tough times. I can’t artificially create tough times for the guys to see how the guys respond. They have to come at us. It’s not nice and it’s not pleasant and no one enjoys it I certainly don’t, but it’s necessary. How do people react after a loss? How do people react if we haven’t had the right reaction? Then you get growth.
“I’m so optimistic about this playing group. I think there’s such a high ceiling with this group of players.”
This is great news for Boro as it appears that Tottenham will not try to sign Hackney in the January window.
Middlesbrough may still receive Hayden Hackney transfer approach
While Tottenham appear to be out of the running for Hackney right now, there remains a chance another side could come in for him.
The Englishman has been one of the Teessiders’ most consistent players in 2024/25, with his age and nationality making him the perfect target for Premier League clubs.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest have already looked at the player and it remains to be seen if they will take their interest a step further in the near future.