Hayden Hackney - A Premier League star in the making

After enjoying a fantastic start to the 2024-25 season, Hayden Hackney continues to prove himself as one of the best players in England's second tier.

After playing in nearly every minute of Middlesbrough’s 2024-25 Championship campaign through their first nine matches of the season, it perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise that Hayden Hackney has arguably become the club’s most important player.

Deployed in the centre of the park, the 22-year-old midfielder has put together some strong performances to help Boro claim 14 points so far, leaving them sat in ninth spot as the competition moves towards its return from the latest international break.

It’s fair to say that their fans will have wanted more at this stage, but that’s not really been through the fault of their rising star who as a result of his output this term, remains a transfer target for a number of Premier League clubs including Manchester United.

To this point of the 2024-25 Championship season, it could be argued that in terms of influence on their side, no player has had more than Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney. His two goals have both come in important victories for his team against - Stoke City and West Brom - whilst his overall level of performance has helped to win the crucial midfield battle on numerous occasions.

It can also be emphasised in other ways, mostly due to the fact that he’s recorded 866 touches of the ball in total in the Championship this campaign. Not only is that the most amongst all midfielders in the competition, but it additionally ranks him 2nd overall in England’s second tier behind only Leeds United’s Pascal Struijk (898).

When all those open-play touches are overlaid onto a pitch graphic like the one above, it showcases just how impressive of a job Hackney has done so far in 2024-25 with covering the ground needed to have a stranglehold on matches on a frequent basis.

At the same time, it highlights his ability to operate as a true box-to-box midfielder, one who can influence the attack just as much as he can play his part in defending his team’s back line.

When looking more in-depth at the data, there’s one place in particular where the Boro star has shone this term; with his passing. Not only does he lead many of the categories in this regard across the competition which we’ll come to very shortly, but his range and scope is also highlighted well throughout.

That’s key, as again, it brings attention to the fact that Hackney has developed his game further this off-season in order to influence the play in as many different areas on the pitch as possible, something that is a highly sought after skill.

In 2024-25 prior to the October international break, Hackney ranked 4th for most successful passes made by any player in the Championship (613) and 2nd for the most amongst midfielders in the competition after Swansea’s Matt Grimes (670).

On top of that, right now he’s playing as arguably the best progressive midfielder in the division when it comes to his passing ability. That’s highlighted best by the fact that the 22-year-old has recorded the most successful passes in the opposition’s half in England’s second tier (400) - 93 more than any other player - whilst he additionally ranks top for most successful passes ending in final third (198) - 61 more than any other player.

Granted, in both of those areas in particular, his passing accuracy needs improvement to take that next crucial step in his career, but the fact that he’s finding plenty of space to receive the ball in different areas of the field is incredibly encouraging.

Lastly when it comes to his passing sphere, the fact that he’s also recorded the fourth most successful long passes amongst all Championship midfielders (36) highlights his fantastic vision and then his quality in order to make the pass. That skill will be crucial for Michael Carrick’s side this campaign, especially if they’re to take advantage of opportunities on the counter-attack when playing more difficult opposition.

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Hackney’s ability on the ball has led him to create eight chances for his teammates too, and although he’s yet to record an assist in league action this term, his expected assist tally of 1.36 points to the fact that those chances that he’s produced have been of relatively high quality, ones that his teammates should have finished on occasion.

His direct goal output has instead come from the fact that he’s already netted two goals this campaign, already half the amount that he struck across his first 56 appearances in the Championship in total (4).

Both of those goals have come from distance, his one against Stoke in particular catching the eye as it showcased every aspect of Hackney’s playing style in one swift moment. After regaining possession back for his side, he then danced past two defenders before smashing a right-footed effort into the top corner from just outside the box.

There is a point to be made about his shooting in general however, as sometimes he can choose the wrong option in attacking situations, striking from range consistently but perhaps when he shouldn’t.

Despite playing in central midfield, he’s actually attempted the ninth-most shots of any player in the Championship (21) which is extremely high considering the amount of quality attackers in the division across the board.

His eight shots on target also rank as the third-most amongst all Championship midfielders and with his xG per shot average standing at just 0.05 - finding a pass in a lot of those shooting situations could have been a far better option.

There are other areas where Hackney is continues to show improvement to his game too, not least so from a more defensive point of view.

His anticipation and reading of the game has seen him win possession back for Boro 54 times so far this campaign, the fourth-most of any player in the competition. That aspect of his game can additionally be highlighted by the fact that he’s made 11 interceptions which have helped to break up the opposition’s play.

Hackney is fantastic with the ball at his feet and in close quarters too. Standing at 5 ft 8 in, his frame allows him to keep control of possession quite easily both through his turn of pace, agility and power. It equally gives him confidence in making mazy runs when needed to either get out of trouble or find the space needed to make a pass.

That’s led to him clocking up 12 successful dribbles this league campaign, and with his attempted take-ons overall coming with a 57.1% success rate, his efficiency in that regard highlights him as one of the best central midfielders in the division when taking on his man.

When you put all of the above together and look for similar players in the Premier League last season, the names are intriguing. The Opta model most likens him to Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic, whilst Brighton pair Pascal Groß and Billy Gilmour follow not too far behind.

Of course, any step up would prove a difficult one at present, just like it does for most players who make the move from the Championship to the Premier League, but either with or without Middlesbrough, Hayden Hackney looks primed to make a move to England’s top-flight in the very near future.