Hayden Hackney
Personal information
Full name Hayden Rhys Hackney[1]
Date of birth (2002-06-26) 26 June 2002 (age 21)
Place of birth Redcar, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
Number 7
Youth career
0000–2021 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Middlesbrough 56 (4)
2021–2022 → Scunthorpe United (loan) 28 (0)
International career‡
2016 England U15 2 (0)
2022 Scotland U21 2 (0)
2023– England U21 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 February 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:43, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Hayden Rhys Hackney (born 26 June 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough.

Early life

Hackney was born in Redcar.[3]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). he signed his first professional contract with the club on 26 June 2019, his 17th birthday.[4][5] Shortly after being named on the first-team bench for a match against Barnsley in November 2019, he was praised by Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate, with Woodgate claiming "Hayden Hackney deserves to be there because he's been outstanding for the Under-23s".[6]

Hackney made his senior debut for Middlesbrough on 9 January 2021, starting in a 2–1 FA Cup defeat away to Brentford.[7] He made his league debut for the club in the final match of the season as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.[2][8] He signed a new two-year contract with the club later that month.[9]

On 31 August 2021, Hackney joined EFL League Two side Scunthorpe United on loan until January 2022.[10] After playing in the majority of games in the first half of the season, Hackney's loan was extended to last until the end of the season.[11] In the 15th minute of a 2–0 defeat to Exeter City,[12] Hackney was caught spitting at an opponent.[13] The referee did not see this at the time, but after the game, the Football Association confirmed that Hackney had admitted to spitting and was given a six-game suspension.[14][15] He made 31 appearances as Scunthorpe were relegated to the National League.[16]

Hackney's game time at Middlesbrough was limited at the start of the 2022–23 season, but Hackney became a regular starter following the appointment of Michael Carrick as manager in October 2022.[17][18] On 19 October, Hackney scored his first goal for Middlesbrough in a 4–1 win against Wigan Athletic.[19] On 8 December, he signed a contract extension until 2026.[17] Hackney won the Middlesbrough Young Player of the Year Award for the 2022–23 season,[20] having made 38 appearances and scoring 3 goals.[2] Hackney was also nominated for the Championship Young Player of the Season Award for the same season,[21] but lost out to Bristol City's Alex Scott.[22]

On 28 June 2023, Hackney signed a new contract for Middlesbrough, keeping him to the club until the summer of 2027.[23] Hackney captained the club for the first time in a 1–0 home defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on 6 January 2024.[24] On 9 January, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Chelsea in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.[25]

International career

Hackney represented England at under-15 level.[3] He is also eligible to represent Scotland because his mother was born in Edinburgh. He debuted for the Scotland under-21 team in November 2022.[26][27] In September 2023, he was called up to the England under-21 squad for the first time.[28]

On 11 September 2023, Hackney made his England U21 debut during a 3–0 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification win away to Luxembourg.[29]

Style of play

Hackney plays as a central midfielder. He often plays as a deep-lying playmaker due to his ability in possession of the ball.[30]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 January 2024[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Middlesbrough U21 2018–19 — — — 1[a] 0 1 0
Middlesbrough 2020–21 Championship 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2021–22 Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2022–23 Championship 34 3 1 0 1 0 2[b] 0 38 3
2023–24 Championship 16 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 21 2
Total 51 4 2 0 7 1 3 0 63 5
Scunthorpe United (loan) 2021–22 League Two 28 0 1 0 0 0 2[a] 0 31 0
Career total 79 4 3 0 7 1 5 0 94 5
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in EFL Championship play-offs

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 23rd June 2020: Middlesbrough" (PDF). 23 June 2020. p. 18. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Hayden Hackney at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Hayden Hackney". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Hayden Hackney Signs Professional Contract". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. ^ Brooks, George (26 June 2019). "Middlesbrough starlet signs new deal at the Riverside". Football League World. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "MATCH REPORT: Brentford 2 Boro 1". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  8. ^ Law, James (8 May 2021). "Wycombe relegation confirmed despite win at Boro". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  9. ^ Shaw, Dominic (27 May 2021). "Hayden Hackney rounds off superb season with a new Boro contract". TeessideLive. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Hayden Hackney: Scunthorpe sign Middlesbrough midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Hayden Hackney's loan stay extended until end of the season". Scunthorpe-United. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Exeter City 2-0 Scunthorpe united". BBC. 15 January 2022. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Hayden Hackney: Scunthorpe United midfielder banned for spitting". BBC. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  14. ^ Kirwan, Chris (20 January 2022). "Scunthorpe's Hayden Hackney gets six-game ban for spitting". South Wales Argus. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Hackney set for six-game suspension". Scunthorpe-United. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  16. ^ Johns, Craig (13 December 2022). "Midfield starlet Hayden Hackney shares the secret to his impressive Boro form". TeessideLive. Reach plc. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  17. ^ a b Bennett, Charlie (8 December 2022). "Hackney signs long-term contract extension". TeessideLive. Reach plc. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  18. ^ Shaw, Dominic (18 February 2023). "Middlesbrough's Hayden Hackney secret is out as Carrick tells of 'real pleasure'". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Wigan 1–4 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Double Recognition For Chuba Akpom At Player Of The Year Awards". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  21. ^ "EFL Awards 2023 shortlists revealed". efl.com. English Football League. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Scott wins EFL Championship Young Player of the Year". bcfc.co.uk. Bristol City F.C. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Hayden Hackney pens deal until 2027". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Match Review: Boro 0 Aston Villa 1". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  25. ^ Bate, Adam (10 January 2024). "Middlesbrough 1–0 Chelsea: Hayden Hackney earns Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg lead for Championship side". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Hayden Hackney". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Hayden Hackney Rewarded With Scotland Call". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough FC. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  28. ^ "England MU21s squad named for Luxembourg". englandfootball.com. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  29. ^ Dickson Jefford, Oli (11 September 2023). "Report: Luxembourg 0-3 England MU21s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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