Middlesbrough have turned down a second bid for Hayden Hackney from Europa League side FC Porto.
The Portuguese giants are keen on signing the 22-year-old, having previously lodged a verbal bid last week. It is believed there are Premier League clubs interested but none have moved to make an offer.
Second Bid Rejected
According to Sky Sports News’ Keith Downie, who broke the original approach from Porto, Boro have rejected an official bid in the region of £10 million as it is not close to their valuation. It is believed that Michael Carrick does not want to sell his number seven, who has captained the team in games this season.
Hackney is a product of the Teesside club’s academy and the local lad, hailing from Redcar, is four appearances short of his 100th for the club. He has played 27 times this season, scoring four times and adding an additional assist to his tally.
The move for Hackney comes as Manchester City gear up a push to sign their current defensive midfielder in Nico Gonzales, with the latest reports in that deal indicating that Pep Guardiola’s side are ‘confident’ in completing a move for the Spanish midfielder.
Writer’s View
Hayden Hackney is the glue that keeps the Middlesbrough midfield together so it is imperative the club keep him this window. Porto are looking more and more likely that they will sell their current defensive midfielder in Nico Gonzalez in the coming hours so will need to up their offer substantially to try and convince Michael Carrick to let go of Hackney. It does feel that Boro will keep him for the remainder of this season but failing to gain promotion may see a bidding war emerge over the summer as he is definitely ready to make the step up to a top league.
