Liverpool are reportedly keeping tabs on an England under-21 prospect who’s been excelling in the Championship this season.
According to the Daily Mail, scouts from Anfield have been watching Hayden Hackney, with the midfielder also attracting interest from Tottenham and both Manchester clubs.
It’s understood that the 21-year-old would prefer to remain at Middlesbrough for the remainder of the campaign, although there’s an ‘acceptance’ from the Riverside Stadium that he’ll likely depart if they aren’t promoted to the Premier League next year.
The report mentions that ‘sources insist Liverpool’s interest could yet be the one to rival Spurs’, which suggests that the Reds are in a decent position among the pack of big-name suitors.
Hackney has already made almost 100 senior club appearances at the age of 21, earning 16 starts for Middlesbrough so far this season (Transfermarkt).
He also won five caps for England’s under-21s over the autumn, playing alongside a current Liverpool first-teamer in Harvey Elliott, who could vouch for him with a strong character reference if the Reds take their interest in the Boro youngster to the next level.
Teesside Live journalist Eric Paylor hailed the 21-year-old as ‘a little bit special’, praising the midfielder’s ‘uncanny levels of both confidence and quality’.
Primarily a defensive midfielder, Hackney could give LFC a long-term option in that area of the pitch, with Wataru Endo and Thiago Alcantara both in their 30s and the latter currently set to depart at the end of his contract next summer.
Liverpool’s scouting team might want to witness the Middlesbrough gem in action a few more times before making a definitive verdict, although they could well sound out his England under-21 teammate Elliott for a recommendation too.
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