Everton in Pole Position to Sign Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney

Everton are in pole position to sign Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough in the summer transfer window. 

According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, Everton are leading the race to sign Hackney, with the 23-year-old preferring a move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium over other suitors. 

Tottenham, Manchester United, and Crystal Palace are all believed to be admirers of Hackney, but it appears Everton are now winning the race.

Hackney is a player who has been destined to make a move to the Premier League, and we'll be taking a look at his profile, strengths, weaknesses, and how he will fit into Everton. 

Unfortunately, starting off on a negative note. Hackney's obvious weaknesses is off the ball. We'll touch on what he can do with the ball at his feet later, but he does struggle with the defensive side of the game. 

Hackney can look quite lazy when his side don't have the ball. He's somewhat of a luxury player in that aspect. The England youth international is quite poor at winning the ball back, while the opposition often finds it easy to dribble past him, leaving a lazy leg out in the tackle. 

His defensive metrics might not look awful, perhaps due to Kim Hellberg's high-pressing system out of possession, but on the eye, you can see his struggles. 

As a result, playing him deeper can be a huge risk, especially if he makes the step up to the Premier League. 

An issue could be that you can't really carry central players in a David Moyes side. Hackney is also not really suited to a midfield two in the Premier League, but there is a possibility he could work at Everton in a three-man midfield. 

Hackney's attributes would suit him being an advanced #8, but in order to have a Premier League career playing deeper, he's going to have to improve defensively. 

Now, this is the fun part. 

Hackney is undoubtedly one of the best players in the Championship with the ball at his feet. If you want progression from midfield, Hackney is your man. 

A lot of Middlesbrough's positive play goes through Hackney, getting a large % of the ball. When he receives it, he loves to turn defence into attack, whether that be through carrying the ball or passing. 

Hackney would add a lot of technical quality to a lot of teams, something which Everton lack. The way Hackney commits players and draws fouls is almost Jack Grealish-like, in the way he uses his quick feet to knock the ball past an oncoming tackle. 

Hackney is at his best when he has freedom in possession. Not just restricted to one position, but allowed to float into half-spaces and out wide, creating space for himself to get lots of touches of the ball - similar to how Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall likes to drift out left for Everton.

As you can see above, Hackney makes a lot of his passes in the final third and plenty of key passes too. He's more effective in the opposition half, and that's where he receives the ball a large percentage of the time. In a possession-dominant side, Hackney wants to be constantly involved. 

Only Sorba Thomas created more chances than Hackney in the Championship last season, although the Middlebrough man actually created more per 90 minutes. He certainly has a spark of creativity about him, but he also touches the ball more than almost every other player in the league. 

In summary, Hackney's strengths are making things happen. Positivity, progression, creativity. He's a fantastic footballer to watch, and he's one fans will certainly appreciate when he has the ball. 

In short, Hackney would struggle, or at least be exposed, in Everton's current setup in a midfield two. Hackney would be more suited to playing in the number 10 role at Everton, rather than alongside James Garner, for example.

His defensive ability would get exposed in a two at Premier League level, especially without a real ball-winning sitter. Tim Iroegbunam is a strong ball-winner, but that's usually through hunting and vacating his position, leaving gaps. 

Everton have a lack of progression from deep at the moment. Garner could have the ability to break lines through passing, but he often prefers the safe option and keeps the game ticking over. 

Hackney would certainly bring that, but again, there are concerns defensively. 

Everton have a real lack of intensity in and out of possession at the moment. Hackney wouldn't help solve that fully. His lack of urgency without the ball is a concern, unless it can be coached out of him.

Part of me thinks that Hackney knows he's better than the Championship, so doesn't have that 'drive' off the ball. 

If Everton were to bring in another midfielder alongside Hackney, and even sometimes using him in the 10, then I think it could be a smart move, but I don't think it's a perfect fit.

That's not to suggest it's 100% a bad signing, but price will matter.

Everton are in a pretty strong negotiating position when it comes to Hackney. The 23-year-old is out of contract next summer, and with Middlesbrough failing to get promoted, you'd imagine he won't be signing a new deal.

Boro will be forced to sell, and although plenty of clubs are interested, it's already emerged that he'd prefer a move to Everton.

A fee in the region of £10m-£15m certainly wouldn't be bad, but as mentioned, there are a lot of variables that need to align for Hackney to be a success at Everton.