Spurs to face Premier League competition for midfielders signature
By Tom Vinall
In recent months, Spurs have been linked to Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney on a number of occasions, with the 22-year old consistently impressing under manager Michael Carrick at the heart of their midfield.
Spurs have began shopping in the Championship more often in recent times, picking up Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert this summer, as well as Djed Spence back in the summer of 2022.
There are numerous currently thriving players in Premier League who came from the Championship, with the League seen by several people as the best window to shop in.
As a result, Spurs are not alone in their interest of Hackney, with TBR football reporting that all of Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Nottingham Forest are interested in the Middlesbrough midfielder.
They add that all three went to the West Bromwich Albion vs Middlesbrough game last week to watch the midfielder, a game in which he scored the winner, and produced an all round monstrous display, where he recorded over 100 touches, created a big chance, and completed 8/9 long balls.
Hackney is an England U21 international, and has been called up to the most recent squad, where he will play alongside Archie Gray. He has been one of the most impressive midfielders in the Championship for a while now, and all of this interest should not come as a surprise to anyone.
The only question mark is Hackney's profile. He is an energetic, box-to-box midfield type, and Ange already has enough of a selection headache there, particularly with the new set up in midfield. Is Hackney someone Spurs need? We will see, but he does not feel like a priority profile at the moment, as good as he is.
If anyone wants to potentially see both Hackney and Gray in action for the England U21s, their qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan on the 11th and 15th of October will be on BBC iPlayer for those in the UK.