The ‘remarkable’ Championship star Arsenal and Liverpool may gamble €20m on

Sam McGuire

• 19 Jun 2023 09:00 BST
• 5 min read

The 2022/23 Championship campaign was a breakout one for a number of players.

Alex Scott claimed the EFL Championship Young Player of the Year award following his displays for Bristol City. He’s been linked with a big-money move to the Premier League following his exploits in the second tier, though nothing is yet to materialise.

Amad Diallo made the most of his loan spell with Sunderland. His goals fired them into the Championship play-offs and, according to reports, he’s set to have a place in Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United squad next season. The 20-year-old was also nominated for the EFL Championship Young Player of the Year award but lost out to Scott.

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Another player who made the final cut was Hayden Hackney.

The Scotland Under-21 international had a season to remember for Middlesborough.

Loaned out to Scunthorpe United during the 2021/22 season, the expectation was that the 5ft10 midfielder would have another loan spell away from the Riverside. According to reports, Hartlepool would’ve looked to sign him had Graeme Lee remained at the helm but he was dismissed. By all accounts, Hackney wasn’t in Chris Wilder’s plans and a loan would’ve been sanctioned had there been a suitable one on the table.

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Wilder’s departure in early November was a sliding-doors moment for Hackney’s season. Leo Percovich was named as interim boss and he put the midfielder straight into his starting XI. He’s practically remained there ever since.

Michael Carrick was hired and he put his trust and faith in Hackney.

He was rewarded for it.

The rise has been nothing short of remarkable. He started the season as a player on the periphery of the first-team squad and finished it as one of the leading men for his hometown club.

Hackney was a key cog for Carrick’s side, appearing in 36 matches in total last season as Boro claimed an unlikely fourth-place finish. He chipped in with three goals and four assists as a bonus given he wasn’t in the team to contribute in the final phase.

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The youngster is a tempo-setter and a deep-lying playmaker who wants to be in possession. In some ways, he isn’t too dissimilar to Carrick. He does the basics very, very well and gives his side a platform to build. This is an underrated aspect in the modern game and it isn’t a trait you see in players just starting out.

He averaged 66 passes per 90 and had a success rate of 88%. The 20-year-old was instrumental in Middlesbrough getting a foothold in games and then imposing themselves on the opposition. Only Burnley (65%) and Swansea City (64%) had more of the ball than Carrick’s side.

The No.30 was rewarded for his performances with a new contract. He put pen to paper on an extension in December, tying him to the club until 2026. This puts Boro in a good position as they won’t be forced into selling the highly rated youngster on the cheap. Ideally, they wouldn’t sell him at all.

However, the riches of the Premier League might be too much.

Reports suggest Arsenal, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Leicester and Nottingham Forest are all keeping tabs on the controlling midfielder. Whereas a €20 million bid would be nothing to most of those clubs, it is transformative money for a club like Boro and it would have to be entertained.

Is he ready to make the step up and start for a Premier League club? Perhaps not. But the potential is there and a lot of top-level clubs are gambling on players a lot more now so they aren’t having to pay €40m in a year or so. A bit-part role during his developmental years could go one of two ways for Hackney. He could improve while training alongside better players and then emerge in a year or two as a starter in the Premier League. Alternatively, he could stagnate and look at these years as wasted ones.

Ultimately, it is a gamble for everyone involved. But gambles do, sometimes, pay off. After all, it was Percovich’s gamble that gave Hackney his chance.