Update offered on Hayden Hackney saga with Everton ready to improve bid

Update offered on Hayden Hackney saga with Everton ready to improve bid(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

>Everton saw two offers for Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney rejected earlier this summer, with public progress on a potential deal almost non-existent in recent weeks.

>Hackney, we were told, wanted Everton despite interest from Premier League rivals, though the Toffees have been unable to close a deal. Everton's offers are believed to have been around £12m and £15m for the 24-year-old, who was named as the Championship's Player of the Season for 2025/26.

>He scored five league goals and added seven assists, while leading all Championship midfielders for progressive carries.

>Middlesbrough's poor run-in coincided with Hackney's absence through injury, as the North East side fell out of automatic promotion contention, before losing the play-off final to Hull City. The club are now reluctantly ready to sanction the academy product's sale, with Hackney having only 12 months to run on his current contract.

>Boro are understood to be holding out for a fee in excess of £20million, with Crystal Palace also pursuing the player. Journalist Alan Nixon has now provided an update on the summer saga, and it appears a positive one for Evertonians.

>Nixon claims Everton are ready to 'go close' to a £20million fee in a bid to get a deal done, a figure Palace are not prepared to match.

>However, the Eagles are instead ready to offer 21-year-old midfielder David Ozoh as a sweetener in any deal. Ozoh has spent the last two seasons on loan in the Championship at Derby County, where he has made 47 appearances.