Tottenham step up bid to sign £20m midfield ace as Championship giants urged not to buckle

Championship giants Middlesbrough has been urged to do all they can to keep hold of a Tottenham midfield target before the summer transfer shuts as talk of a £20million deal gathers pace.

Spurs are revamping their squad with young talent under Ange Postecoglou, with the likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert brought in so far alongside the club-record addition of Dominic Solanke.

But they are not done yet in the summer window and it’s believed that a move for outstanding Boro midfielder Hayden Hackney could still be on the cards over the course of the coming week.

Postecoglou remains in the market for another player to bring into his engine room, having previously hunted Conor Gallagher along with Aston Villa star Jacob Ramsey.

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However, Hackney remains a name firmly in the frame for a switch to north London, with the 22-year-old becoming an integral part of the Middlesbrough first team since making his breakthrough in the 2022-23 season.

The highlight of his Boro career so far was scoring the winner in a 1-0 triumph over Premier League Chelsea in the Carabao Cup back in January.

Hackney’s consistent performances and clear talent also saw him earn a first call-up to the England Under-21 squad last September and he has now gone on to win five caps at that level.

Recent reports have revealed that Tottenham scouts were in attendance for Middlesbrough’s first two games of the new campaign, although Boro head of football Kieran Scott has previously stated that the club will take a firm stance when it comes to selling players this summer.

“It’s vital (keeping players). I don’t mind saying that. I can’t control what other clubs may do or may not do but, from our position, we don’t want to lose anyone,” Scott told Teesside Live back in June.

“The only chance we’re going to have of going up this season is keeping our best players. I speak to Steve [Gibson] regularly and he’s as strong and fiery on this as I’ve ever heard him in terms of us keeping our players here.”

And, despite the fact Boro did bolster their midfield with the addition of Aidan Morris this summer, former Engand midfielder Carlton Palmer has urged them against cashing in on Hackney given Tottenham’s interest.

“Tottenham have been in the stands for Middlesbrough’s opening two games running the rule over Hayden Hackney,” Palmer said.

“There’s a lot of interest in Hackney.

“He’s playing regularly for Middlesbrough, and it would be a huge blow to their chances of getting in the play-offs this season or better if they were to lose him.

“But we know how it works, they’re in that position where they have to sell players to bring in money.

“Maybe a deal will be done for Hackney and he could return to the club on loan for the rest of the season because it’s highly unlikely that he would move to Spurs and be playing regular football.”

Palmer impressed with Tottenham transfer business

Palmer has also backed the direction Tottenham and Postecoglou are going in relation to the young talent they are picking up but remains hopeful that Boro are able to keep Hackney on board, for now.

He added: “Under Postecoglou, it looks like Spurs are going down a different route, they’ve already signed Archie Gray from Leeds United, who has got a hell of a future in front of him, so it looks like they’re going for young players to build the club for the future, which I think is the right route.

“But Michael Carrick will be very, very disappointed to lose Hackney, who has already got five England Under-21 caps, he will want the window to shut and still have him at the club.

“Without a shadow of a doubt, if they lose him, Middlesbrough’s chances of doing well this season will sadly diminish, but we’ll have to wait and see if a big offer comes in.

“I believe that Middlesbrough should hold onto him, I know they have signed Aidan Morris, but they should still hang on to him, unless they get a really ridiculous offer.

“Sometimes you can’t hold a player back when an opportunity comes for him to go and play at the highest level, you just can’t do that, you’ve got to give the kid the opportunity.

“But like I said, they would have to come with a massive offer, I think they would want around £20m with a very big sell-on fee for him.

“We’ll have to wait and see where this eventually ends up, but I think Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick should keep hold of him for at least one more season.

“If they don’t get promoted, I think it will be highly likely that he will be moving on.”

All eyes will now be on the final week of the window and whether Tottenham make a concrete effort to move for Hackney or wait until next summer to give Gray and Bergvall a full season to stake their own claims for regular midfield berths first.

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