Middlesbrough urged to avoid double transfer exit - Tommy Conway departure "cannot afford to happen" | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit believes the club cannot afford to lose Hayden Hackney.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough are gathering momentum in their push for a play-off place in the Championship this season.

Michael Carrick's side have picked up 13 points from the last 18 available to them, which has lifted them to seventh in the table and left them level on points with West Bromwich Albion in sixth place.

Boro are looking to reach the play-offs in the second tier for the third time since they were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016/17 campaign, and they will hope that it can be third time lucky if they do finish in the top-six, with a return to the top flight having been their objective at the beginning of the season.

If Middlesbrough fail to win promotion back to the Premier League this season, they may struggle to keep hold of one or two of their better players during the summer transfer window, so it is set to be an important couple of months on Teesside.

Middlesbrough could lose key players this summer

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Jasper Hudson, what his main concern is ahead of the summer transfer window, and he highlighted two players that he feels the club cannot afford to lose.

"In terms of something we would like to avoid happening in the summer, it would have to be Hackney leaving," Jasper said.

"I feel as though he has been a pretty crucial part of our midfield, and he would be hard to replace.

"He has developed a lot under Carrick. He is a local lad, he came through the academy, he knows the team well, and it would just be a shame to lose such a good player.

"I think if we were to lose him we would get a nice fee for him, which would take away some of the pain, but we would be losing a good player going into what could be another Championship play-off push next season.

"That would not be ideal for our promotion hopes as I do think he would be quite hard to replace.

"Another thing that we cannot afford to happen is losing Tommy Conway. We have to keep hold of Conway at least for the whole of next season. We need to start bedding in some stability and not have such a high turnover rate of strikers.

"I really do think Conway is a class act and I have no doubt that, in time, he will be playing in the league above - I just hope that is with us."

Hackney is on the radar of Premier League clubs

Middlesbrough have every right to be concerned that they may struggle to keep hold of Hayden Hackney, as he has reportedly attracted interest from several Premier League clubs recently.

Football Insider revealed last month that Crystal Palace were plotting a summer move for the 22-year-old, while Newcastle United have also been linked with the midfielder, who had a £25m price-tag placed on his head by Middlesbrough in January, as per GIVEMESPORT.

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool were also said to be keen on Hackney last season, so it would not come as a huge surprise if any of those clubs reignited their interest this summer.

Boro will be desperate to win promotion via the play-offs this season, not only to secure a long-awaited return to the top flight, but also to maximise the value of players like Hackney.