Man Utd transfer news: Red Devils ‘continue to monitor’ £30m midfielder wanted by four other Premier League clubs

Manchester United will continue to monitor Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney as they shape their midfield recruitment plans ahead of the summer transfer window, according to a report.

Hackney has been on the books at the Riverside since 2011, joining the club's academy at Under-10s level before working his way through their youth system and making his senior debut in January 2021.

The 23-year-old has since made a total of 147 first-team appearances for Middlesbrough across all competitions and has been a huge part of the club’s success in the Championship this season.

Primarily a deep-lying midfielder, Hackney has chipped in with four goals and six assists in 32 league games - wearing the captain’s armband on 14 occasions - for a Boro outfit who sit second in the Championship table and are in a strong position to secure promotion to the Premier League.

Hackney was the subject of interest from Premier League clubs in January, with Middlesbrough rebuffing an approach from Nottingham Forest after making it clear that a mid-season exit for one of their star players was not an option.

Man Utd ‘expected’ to sign more than one midfielder this summer

Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Leeds United have also been credited with an interest in Hackney, as well as Man United, and considering his impressive rise as a midfielder, there is a growing belief that the Boro star could soon be on the move to a new club.

According to TEAMtalk, Man United are determined to bring in a proven Premier League performer as their marquee midfield signing this summer, with the addition of an experience player with top-flight pedigree viewed as ‘essential’ in order to strengthen the spine of their team.

The Red Devils will see Casemiro depart when his contract expires at the end of the season and a host of names, including Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali, have been linked with a big-money move to Old Trafford in recent months.

However, the report refers to insiders that also indicate that at least one additional signing is expected in the midfield department to enhance squad depth and support long-term succession planning.

Man Utd plotting summer move for £30m-rated Hackney

Hackney is said to be a player who has been tracked by Man United’s recruitment team for some time and he is viewed as a midfield option that is capable of developing into a Premier League regular.

The England Under-21 international is also very familiar to Red Devils interim boss Michael Carrick, who worked with the midfielder for almost three full seasons during his time in charge of Middlesbrough before he was sacked in June 2025.

Baring in mind that Hackney will enter the final year of his contract this summer, there is believed to be an acceptance from Middlesbrough that they will lose the midfielder if they fail to secure promotion to the Premier League this season.

It has previously been suggested that Boro would entertain offers of £30m for Hackney, and if they were to receive this figure, if would comfortably surpass the club-record £22.5m fee they pocketed from the sale of striker Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atlanta United last summer.