Everton appear to be making progress in their move for Hayden Hackney.
Fans have been growing concerned about the lack of updates in recent days, with Everton and Middlesbrough having seemingly reached an impasse.
Despite this though, there has still been optimism.
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That was mainly because Hackney was said to have favoured a move to Everton over all other clubs interested in him.
There was some talk of Boro liking Harrison Armstrong and the idea of an exchange was floated.
But today, it’s been reported (by the Telegraph and others) that Everton have finally reached an agreement with Middlesbrough for the midfielder’s transfer.
And with that said, it’s worth looking at where he’s set to rank on the list of most expensive Championship sales.
Hayden Hackney set to become one of the Championship’s biggest-ever sales
It has been reported by The Times that Everton have reached an agreement with Boro to sign Hackney for a fee worth up to £25 million.
It’s thought that Everton will pay an initial £16.5 million.
£5 million is then set to be paid based on appearances, with a further £23 million linked to future Champions League and England games if they come.
There has been a lot of talk already about this £25 million fee.
Some feel it’s quite large, given the player is actually out of contract next summer.
But at the same time, Hackney has so many clubs interested in him, Everton perhaps couldn’t afford to play hardball for too long.
And this will be one of the biggest Championship sales ever:
- Romeo Lavia – £58m (Southampton to Chelsea)
- Nathan Ake – £41m (Bournemouth to Manchester City)
- James Maddison – £41m (Leicester City to Tottenham Hotspur)
- Georginio Rutter – £40m (Leeds United to Brighton)
- Moussa Sissoko – £30m (Newcastle United to Tottenham Hotspur)
- Joao Pedro – £30m (Watford to Brighton)
- Ollie Watkins – £28m (Brentford to Aston Villa)
- Jordan Pickford – £28m (Sunderland to Everton)
- Hayden Hackney – £25m (Middlesbrough to Everton?)
- Jude Bellingham – £25m (Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund)
Five of these sales were made by clubs that had just been relegated from the Premier League.
Lavia, Ake, Maddison, Sissoko and Pickford were all essentially bought for the contributions they made in the top-flight.
It is now on Everton to get this deal tied up relatively quickly. Reports have already indicated it could be done later this week, which is positive to hear.
It has been a slow start to the summer, but to get Hackney sorted in the coming days and to follow that up with another player next week would just calm the fans down a little.
With news of Hackney’s move now being imminent, it will be interesting to see if we get some kind of announcement about Idrissa Gana Gueye, with his contract officially finishing in a couple of days.
Everton do have the option to extend it, but Gueye’s wife recently hinted they were moving house.
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