Hayden Hackney

[Shogun]

I'm sure he's lovely but I refuse to waste my time on any of these new signing videos, they're all the same nonsense!

[Bluedylan1]

I'm sure he's lovely but I refuse to waste my time on any of these new signing videos, they're all the same nonsense!

Fair do's. I just like to hear people talk and get a sense of them when they join the club. Not looking for a biting, insightful interview.

[Shogun]

Fair do's. I just like to hear people talk and get a sense of them when they join the club. Not looking for a biting, insightful interview.

Entirely fair!

Did they ask him about joining such a big historic club, how great the fans are, how exciting it was to play at the Hill Dickinson and how much of an impact David Moyes was in bringing him here?

[Bluedylan1]

Entirely fair!

Did they ask him about joining such a big historic club, how great the fans are, how exciting it was to play at the Hill Dickinson and how much of an impact David Moyes was in bringing him here?

So you did watch it?

[Raptor]

Entirely fair!

Did they ask him about joining such a big historic club, how great the fans are, how exciting it was to play at the Hill Dickinson and how much of an impact David Moyes was in bringing him here?

Yes:

"The manager explained his vision for me, months 1-6 I'll get circa 1-3 minutes at the end of games we're comfortably winning. I might also get to start lesser game, then pulled off at half time if I don't run hard enough. Following that I'll be confined to watching from the bench while I contemplate where I've gone wrong with the hope I've learnt my lessons ready for the start of the 27/28 season - I can't wait to get started'

[Granite]

So was anyone else in for him apart from Palace?

I seem to remember Wharton had top 6 suitors but chose Palace for the guaranteed playing time.

Looks like we had a free run at Hackney.

[Bluedylan1]

Quite a few Spurs and Newcastle fans pissed off that they weren't in for him.

[Raptor]

So was anyone else in for him apart from Palace?

I seem to remember Wharton had top 6 suitors but chose Palace for the guaranteed playing time.

Looks like we had a free run at Hackney.

He said as soon as he spoke to the manager his mind was made up that he wanted to come to Everton. So I'm assuming all the other interested parties stopped their pursuit......

[Gary1878]

Reading the comments from Boro fans on Facebook shows that he is extremely well thought of there. Wishing him all the best and says attitude and commitment spot on.

Really think we have good one here.

[Bluedylan1]

Reading the comments from Boro fans on Facebook shows that he is extremely well thought of there. Wishing him all the best and says attitude and commitment spot on.

Really think we have good one here.

Yeah I'm going early on this one. Will be one of the best value signings of the season.

[Shogun]

He's 24 with over 150 matches, so you'd hope he can settle in pretty quickly to a starting place now Gana is seemingly gone.

[Cozzie]

Quite the dish isn't he?

[Raptor]

I'm torn, overall I think it's a good signing, I'm not as sold on it as others, and I think his contribution will largely be based on how we start the season.
Personally, I think it's a really high risk approach if he starts the first few game of the season and is seen as a replacement for the likes of Gana given his lack of experience, and for that reason I don't see that as being an option Moyes would take. So unless we have a shocker and a few injuries and Moyes hand is forced, I don't see too much game time initially.

We have players of a similar age, some with much better experience, that struggle to adapt and hold down a place. It's going to be a steep learning curve and id expect him to start to look to establish himself into the new year, if at all.

There are positives for sure, and the reviews from their fans is encouraging, but I think it's easy to underestimate the jump up in quality, but hopefully something he can rise too

[sam of the south]

Yeah I'm going early on this one. Will be one of the best value signings of the season.

Iirc, though, both me & you thought Klassen and Keane would be amazing for us

[Trowel]

Full article below:

Late last week, there were doubts from key figures on all sides of the deal that Hayden Hackney’s move to Everton would happen.

Everton had initially sensed an opportunity, with Hackney about to move into the final year of his contract at Middlesbrough, who had narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in May’s Championship play-off final.

Significant groundwork had also revealed that he wanted to come to Hill Dickinson Stadium ahead of other Premier League destinations.

Hackney, 24, had spoken to around eight sides, including Crystal Palace and Manchester United, but chose Everton due to their record for developing Championship players and the likelihood of regular minutes. The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported last month that he was lower down Manchester United’s list of targets.

The idea was that the process would be managed carefully and there would be no bidding war driving up the price. What many of those involved did not see coming was Boro’s hardline negotiating stance.

Last summer, they accepted an initial bid of £12million ($16m), with a further £4m in add-ons, from fellow second-tier club Ipswich Town for Hackney, but the deal fell through. Using that bid as a yardstick and factoring in his contractual situation, Everton initially valued the player between £10m and £12m. This was some way short of Boro’s £25m-£30m valuation, similar to the figure Southampton have placed on another promising midfielder, 22-year-old Shea Charles.

The view on Teesside was that widespread Premier League interest should drive up the fee, and that Hackney had improved during a campaign in which he was named Championship Player of the Season. They made it clear they would be prepared to hold onto their star asset if their valuation was not met.

There were many times, during month-long negotiations mediated by the player’s agency SEG, when the two positions were hard to reconcile. Everton kept upping the ante, but did not seem willing to commit the guaranteed £25m that would move the dial.

Palace were waiting in the wings in case a deal could not be agreed, and Everton were pursuing other options in parallel.

It was only late last week that things started to shift. Everton, through head of trading Nick Hammond, proposed a deal that could, if all clauses were met, rise to close to Boro’s valuation.

It was a take-it-or-leave-it final offer, with the Merseyside club keen to make progress on deals before the squad starts pre-season testing on Friday. And while it may not have been £25m up front — the guaranteed fee is an initial £16.5m — the total package, which also includes a sell-on based on future profit, was broadly in line with what Boro wanted.

Even during tougher times in negotiations, the hope was always that Boro’s return to pre-season training, which comes today (Thursday), and Hackney’s desire to move would prove decisive. Few Championship clubs can afford to lose such a valuable player for nothing at the end of their contract.

By early this week, the framework of a deal had been agreed. Following more progress on Tuesday between the clubs on the finer elements, plus successful negotiations over salary and agents’ fees, Hackney was granted permission to undergo a medical on Wednesday, before being announced as an Everton player today.

Hammond, who reports directly to Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear, was seen as pivotal in making the move happen. He was relentless in the pursuit of a key target and keen to find a compromise that worked for all sides.

Both parties will project the deal positively. Boro get a decent up-front fee and are weighed in on any future success the player has. Everton’s view will be that the performance-based clauses — based on appearances, European qualification and Hackney being selected for England — are difficult enough to achieve that it may never reach £25m, or that it will be money very well spent.

Everton believe his Championship data is comparable to that of Adam Wharton and Alex Scott, who have earned call-ups to the England squad since their moves to Palace and Bournemouth.

David Moyes will be hoping he can repeat his trick of helping a Championship player become influential at a higher level, with success stories including Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Leighton Baines and, at West Ham United, Jarrod Bowen.



Everton manager David Moyes has helped improve second-tier playersMatt McNulty/Getty Images

News of Hackney’s move and the ongoing talks over a permanent deal for Chelsea winger Tyrique George, first reported by The Athletic this week, will be positively received by Everton fans.

Everton do not typically do much early business. Without a full transfer team officially in situ, Moyes expressed frustration at the lack of incomings during the July trip to the United States last summer. There has also been frustration from supporters at how last season unravelled, with a golden shot at European football spurned in the final months.

In signing Hackney and pursuing George, Everton seem to have more ducks in a row this time around. They have also navigated a challenging market for midfielders, full of vastly inflated fees, to sign the Championship’s best player and a former England Under-21 regular.

This week, Tottenham Hotspur agreed deals worth up to a combined £185m for Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. It remains to be seen, of course, how much of an impact Hackney has compared to Fernandes and, if he signs, Tonali. But Everton believe they have got a bargain.

There remains plenty of work to do for Everton, particularly at right-back, on the wings and potentially also in midfield, depending on what happens with Idrissa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam.

With any luck, they are only just shifting into gear.