Hayden Hackney has officially completed his move to Everton – and fans are sure to love one promise the midfielder has already made.
After a couple of weeks without much going on, Everton made a breakthrough with Hackney earlier this week.
The club agreed to pay Middlesbrough up to £25 million in total for the transfer. It will be around £16.5 million initially, with the rest coming in add-ons.
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It’s thought that £3 million relates to Champions League and England games.
It’s a positive step by Everton, with Hackney the standout player last season in the second tier, and his efforts won him the Championship Player of the Season.
He’s been unveiled this morning, and Hackney made one comment that is bound to go down well.
Hayden Hackney’s promise to Everton fans will surely make him a favourite
Hackney is the first arrival of the summer, and fans are pleased to see another Englishman with huge potential arrive.
The midfield has perhaps been in need of a shake-up, with Idrissa Gana Gueye’s age catching up with him in recent times.
It will now be interesting to see what happens with the veteran. Surely at this point, an exit is looking more likely than him staying.
Today, Hackney has given his first interview to Everton’s in-house media team – and one line really does stick out.
He said (via Everton official): “The manager’s track record of bringing players from the Championship to the Premier League was a massive part of my decision as well. Hopefully I can be the next one to do it successfully for Everton.
“It feels like a good fit for me, for sure. I think it’s a given that you work hard, you run, you make tackles. I’ll be doing that.”
Hackney also told fans what they can expect of him in terms of play style. He says he can carry the ball well, arrive late in the box and he has his sights set on scoring goals.
But his promise to work hard, run and make tackles is good to hear, as these are things Evertonians have always valued extremely highly.
And if Gueye does go, then it’ll be even more important that Hackney delivers on this promise.
Gueye may have been on the wane, but his tenacity would still be greatly missed and it sounds like Hackney will be looking to bring a bit of that.
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