Recent reports suggest that Everton are "leading the race" for Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, a player who has found himself on the radar of several Premier League clubs as the summer transfer window opens.
First on the scene, of course, is Everton insider The Bobble, who indicated that the Toffees are "working on a deal" to sign the player, despite the fact that he's "attracting strong interest from several Premier League clubs."
Hackney, who'll turn 24 later this month, has been at Boro essentially his entire career, save for one loan spell at Scunthorpe United back in 2021/22, and has been a regular starter for his boyhood club over the last four seasons in the Championship.
Boro have nearly achieved Premier League promotion on two of those occasions, finishing 4th in 2022/23 and fifth last season, losing to Hull City in the playoff final after the controversy of Southampton's spying fiasco allowed Middlesbrough back into the mix.
And so the general consensus is that Hackney is ready for the next step, with clubs like Tottenham, Crystal Palace, and RB Leipzig also expected to join the race alongside Everton.
But the Toffees appear to be leading the race, according to David Ornstein at The Athletic, who goes on to say that Hackney's "preference is to join Everton," which "puts them in pole position to secure the former England Under-21 international midfielder."
Ornstein does note that the two clubs have not yet been in contact, but that "once Hackney has finalised his decision, that part will follow ahead of any deal being struck."
There are plenty of ways to unpack this potential deal, especially what it means for a player like Charly Alcaraz, who David Moyes did not appear to favor as an attacking midfield option.
But the real question is whether Moyes will trust Hackney any more than he did someone like Tyler Dibling or Merlin Rohl, two other young players with little-to-no Premier League experience, both of whom saw very little time on the pitch, at least not, for Rohl, until later in the year.
Sure, Moyes has a history of bringing in rising stars from the Championship and making them viable Premier League players, the likes of Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill, Michail Antonio, and Jarrod Bowen, chief among them.
There are plenty more angles to dissect this potential move from, but it's something to continue to monitor as the days go along, as it will be interesting to see if Everton have the ability to get work done early in the window, something the club has struggled to do in recent years.
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