Everton have completed the signing of Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough, with the 24-year-old midfielder putting pen to paper on a five-year contract on Merseyside. The deal is worth an initial £16.5m, with add-ons linked to appearances, England call-ups and European qualification potentially taking the total closer to £24m. Boro had rejected three earlier offers before accepting Everton's improved bid.
David Moyes had made signing a new defensive midfielder, a "No. 6", one of his priorities for the summer, and Hackney fits the profile he was after. "Hayden is a promising young player who we've been tracking for some time, and I'm looking forward to working with him," Moyes said after the deal was announced, adding that Everton have "a track record over the years of identifying players in the Championship who have gone on to do really well for us."
For Middlesbrough, this is a significant loss. Hackney is a boyhood fan and academy product from nearby Redcar, and he had just been named the Championship's Player of the Season for 2025/26. He was central to Boro's promotion push, only for them to fall short in the play-off final against Hull City. With just a year left on his contract and no European football to offer, Boro had limited room to negotiate and reluctantly let their homegrown talent go, though the deal does include a sell-on clause that could soften the blow if he moves on again in future.
Hackney's form last season explains the interest. He started all 35 of Boro's Championship games, racking up more minutes than any other outfield player at the club, and contributed five goals and seven assists from midfield. He also won a European Under-21 Championship winner's medal with England in 2025, part of the squad that beat Germany in the final, underlining the growing regard for him at international level.
At Everton, Hackney should provide competition and cover in the deeper midfield positions, a role Moyes has wanted strengthened. His ability to break up play while also driving forward and contributing goals from midfield gives the manager a different option alongside the players already in that area of the pitch. Given his age and the length of his new contract, this looks like a long-term addition rather than a short-term fix, with Everton banking on a player who has already proven himself as one of the best performers outside the Premier League.