21 Under 21: Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough)

Episode #6 | George Elek and Ali Maxwell list the most outstanding young players in the EFL.

21 Under 21 will be released every weekday at noon in June, with paid subscribers unlocking early access to all video content.

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“A clear technician in the middle of the park” — George Elek

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Middlesbrough — Championship, 2023/24:

• Born: 26 June 2002

• Position: Central Midfielder

• League Appearances: 21

• League Starts: 20

⚽ Let’s play ball…

A return entry – because 21-year-old Hayden Hackney is still one of the best ball-playing central midfielders in the Championship.

Unlike Tinie Tempah, Hackney has been to Scunthorpe. He spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Glanford Park; upon returning to The Riverside, however, his gametime was incredibly limited… until the interim stewardship of Leo Percovich in October 2022. Percovich believed Hackney could hold his own. He did more than that, and instantly became a regular in Michael Carrick’s vibrant Boro side who shot up the league and ended up finishing 4th. The Redcar-born midfielder was pipped to the Championship Young Player of the Year award by Alex Scott.

There’s no getting away from the fact that, just like Boro’s fortunes under Carrick, Hackney’s second season in the Championship was more difficult than his first. A knee injury has kept the midfielder out since mid-February.

That being said, Hackney made his England U21 debut in September, captained Boro for the first time in January, scored the winner in the 1-0 victory over Chelsea just a few days later and, to top it off, he’s been selected for 21 Under 21 once more!

📈 At a glance

Pizza charts informed by match data. Each chart rates a chosen player from 0-99 across different metrics (e.g. Dribbles) according to their “percentile rank”. A 75 score shows a player outperforming 75% of other players in the dataset. Each dataset is position-specific. Negative metrics are reversed. [Credit: Riley Roberts.]

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▶️ Watch: Episode 6