{"id":23502,"date":"2026-02-21T21:33:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T21:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/02\/21\/fulham-join-race-to-hijack-evertons-30m-target-is-he-the-right-profile-for-the-toffees\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T21:33:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T21:33:28","slug":"fulham-join-race-to-hijack-evertons-30m-target-is-he-the-right-profile-for-the-toffees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/02\/21\/fulham-join-race-to-hijack-evertons-30m-target-is-he-the-right-profile-for-the-toffees\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulham Join Race To Hijack Everton\u2019s \u00a330m Target: Is He The Right Profile For The Toffees?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Everton really need to fix their midfield. Right now, they are looking ahead to the summer transfer window of 2026. A new report from Pete O\u2019Rourke of Football Insider<\/a> says Fulham<\/a> just joined the hunt for Middlesbrough star Hayden Hackney. He\u2019s been getting a lot of attention from several big English clubs lately.<\/p>\n

Everton and Fulham Join the Race for Hayden Hackney<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Journalist Pete O\u2019Rourke talked about this on the Transfer Insider podcast. He mentioned that Fulham are now going up against Manchester United, Leeds United<\/a>, and Everton to sign the Teesside local. Hackney almost moved to Ipswich Town last summer, but he decided to stay with his childhood club. He wanted to help them get back into the Premier League.<\/p>\n

That loyalty paid off. The midfielder has been a huge part of the team in the second tier this season. Middlesbrough are doing well in the promotion race, which makes a transfer a bit tricky. O\u2019Rourke thinks the Championship side feel good about keeping their star if they actually go up.<\/p>\n

If they don\u2019t make it, expect a massive bidding war. Everton remain very interested in him. At the same time, the club are looking for any new talent that can help out in the middle of the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cHayden Hackney\u2019s future is going to be the subject of intense speculation again this summer.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was last summer, when he came very close to leaving Middlesbrough before he eventually turned down a move to Ipswich.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a number of clubs looking at him, but Middlesbrough did really well to keep hold of him, and they\u2019ve been really rewarded because Hackney\u2019s been the driving force behind their promotion bid to the Premier League.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMiddlesbrough won\u2019t want to lose Hackney. If they were to win promotion to the Premier League, then they would be quite hopeful that they could keep hold of the England Under-21 midfielder.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIf they don\u2019t win promotion to the Premier League, it\u2019s going to be a real hard battle to keep hold of him. You\u2019ll have Leeds, a lot of other Premier League clubs, (such as) Everton, like Hayden Hackney.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s even been talk that Manchester United could be interested\u2026 Fulham are admirers of the player as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Could Hackney replace the veterans in the Everton midfield?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Fulham
MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND \u2013 FEBRUARY 21: Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough warms up prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Oxford United at Riverside Stadium on February 21, 2026 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by George Wood\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hayden Hackney turned 23 last June and is a key player for the England Under-21 team. He fits exactly what David Moyes wants for the long-term at Everton. The current squad needs younger players who can keep up with a high-intensity game.<\/p>\n

The midfielder is elegant on the ball and disciplined. These traits help him play as a deep playmaker or a classic box-to-box player. Everton have to do something about their ageing midfield. Idrissa Gana Gueye is 36 now and reaching the final stages of his career.<\/p>\n

Hackney is a great fit. He\u2019s good defensively but can also score, with four goals and six assists already this season. Manchester United and Fulham have more money, but Everton can offer Hackney a starting spot right away.<\/p>\n

Their style works well for tough, technical midfielders. Everton should see this \u00a330 million price tag as a smart move. It\u2019s better than staying stuck in the middle of the table for another year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everton really need to fix their midfield. Right now, they are looking ahead to the summer transfer window of 2026. A new report from Pete O\u2019Rourke of Football Insider says Fulham just joined the hunt for Middlesbrough star Hayden Hackney. He\u2019s been getting a lot of attention from several big English clubs lately. Everton and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":23503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}