Tuesday night provided a glimpse into what one Tottenham and Man City target could do against Premier League opposition.
Middlesbrough’s 21-year-old defensive midfielder, Hayden Hackney, was the match winner in the first leg of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea, and his all-action display meant that the likes of £100m+ players, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, were in his shadow.
England U21 ace Hackney has garnered a deserved reputation with a series of high quality displays in the north east, and as The Standard note, Man United and Liverpool are also keeping tabs.
The outlet also suggest that Middlesbrough are accepting of the fact that the player will leave the club, and expect offers to come flooding in during the summer.
There is a chance he could be sold in the current transfer window, but only a sensational offer would see that scenario occur.
Given just how well he performed on Tuesday, he may well have given a few sporting directors and Premier League managers some food for thought.
There’s an obvious question as to whether interested parties can afford to wait until the next transfer window and then get involved in what’s likely to be a bun fight for the player’s services.
