Man Utd ‘hijack’ ON as £20m star makes dramatic U-turn on ‘agreed’ deal

The door has opened for Manchester United to make a swoop for one of the brightest young midfielders around, but Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim will need to be at his persuasive best to convince him to move to Old Trafford before the summer transfer window.

Man Utd have been very active in the summer transfer window and have made three major signings so far. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon are now part of Amorim’s squad, as Man Utd aim to finish in the top four of the Premier League table next season.

It is well-documented that Man Utd are in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, as Amorim looks to bring in a top-quality number nine.

It emerged this week that Man Utd are also planning a late move for Hayden Hackney.

GiveMeSport reported that Man Utd were considering ‘a last-minute attempt to hijack’ Ipswich Town‘s deal and convince the Middlesbrough midfielder to move to Old Trafford.

Sky Sports reported that Middlesbrough and Ipswich had ‘agreed a deal’ worth £20million (€22.9, $26.5m) for the midfielder.

According to GiveMeSport, Man Utd were ‘given hope’ of a deal after Hackney ‘refused to rush into undergoing a medical at Portman Road’

The Northern Echo has now reported that Hackney has ‘turned down’ the chance to join Ipswich.

Despite travelling to Suffolk and holding talks with Ipswich after a £20m fee was accepted, Hackney has ‘opted’ to stay at Middlesbrough.

The midfielder is said to have even turned down the chance of a ‘significant’ increases on his current wages at Ipswich.

According to The Northern Echo, while Middlesbrough have always said that they would be happy to keep Hackney if he wanted to stay, there is a chance that other clubs could now bid for the midfielder, thus opening the door for Man Utd.

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What Man Utd need to do to convince Hayden Hackney

That Middlesbrough had a £20m deal agreed with Ipswich for Hackney indicates that they are ready to sell their prized asset.

Man Utd will be aware of the £20m price-tag on the midfielder, so the Red Devils will not have to worry about wasting time in negotiating with Boro over the fee.

The real issue will be convincing Hackney to join Man Utd this summer.

According to GiveMeSport, Hackney wants to be a regular at whichever clubs he goes to next.

The 23-year-old English midfielder started 43 Championship matches for Middlesbrough last season, scoring five goals and providing three assists in the process.

Hackney made 20 starts in the Championship in the 2023/24 campaign, while in the 2022/23 season, he started 34 times in the league.

GiveMeSport has claimed that ‘Amorim will have to give Hackney assurances over the amount of game time he can expect’ if he moved to Old Trafford.

The youngster is ‘desperate’ to make the right decision about his future if he is to leave Middlesbrough this summer.

While Hackney has ‘a strong desire’ to play in the Premier League, Hackney wants to be ‘central’ in his next club’s plan.

The report has added that along with Man Utd, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are also keen on Hackney.

While Hackney has played as a left-winger and in attacking midfield in his career so far, he is primarily a defensive midfielder.

Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro and Toby Collyer are the three recognized defensive midfielders in the Man Utd squad at the moment, while Kobbie Mainoo can also play in that role, even though the Englishman has also been used in attacking midfield.

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