How Hayden Hackney's wages at Middlesbrough compare to the best Championship midfielders | OneFootball

Is the Boro star being short-changed at the Riverside? Are their other Championship central midfield stars earning less than him? FLW investigates.

Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney is one of Boro's latest academy success stories.

Joining Middlesbrough's widely respected and admired academy system at Under-10 level in 2011, the Redcar-born Hackney was turning heads on Teesside long before his first-team breakthrough in 2022.

A fairly quiet loan spell with League Two Scunthorpe United in the 2021/22 season suggested he was some way off making the grade at the Riverside Stadium, but first caretaker manager Leo Percovich and later head coach Michael Carrick spotted something in the young central midfielder during the opening months of the 2022/23 campaign.

38 appearances, three goals and four assists that year would see him emphatically announce his arrival on the scene in the Championship, and he's not looked back since.

But how does his Middlesbrough wage packet compare with the second tier's best midfielders? Using figures from Capology - which must be stressed are an estimate, Football League World investigates.

Hayden Hackney's weekly wage compared to Middlesbrough teammates

Before we compare his wages with his Championship positional peers, let's take a look at how his salary stacks up alongside his Middlesbrough teammates, according to Capology.

Boro's highest paid player this season is Kelechi Iheanacho, who joined on loan for the remainder of the season on deadline day this winter from La Liga side Sevilla.

His weekly wage stands at an eye-watering £75,000, with Boro understood to be paying less than half of that. Middlesbrough's next highest paid players are: Samuel Iling-Junior (£45,000 p/w), Ryan Giles (£35,000 p/w), Luke Ayling (£30,000 p/w) and Jonny Howson (£25,000 p/w).

Making up the mid-tier weekly wage packets at the Riverside this season are: Neto Borges/Mark Travers/Delano Burgzorg (all on £20,000 p/w), Riley McGree/Ben Doak (£15,000 p/w), Marcus Forss (£14,038 p/w) and Aidan Morris (£12,000 p/w).

Surely a player of Hackney's quality and importance would be among Middlesbrough's top earners? Well, according to Capology, that's not the case. The England youth international is stated as earning just £6,500 per week this season.

To put that into context, Capology only has Dan Barlaser, Anfernee Dijksteel, Dael Fry, Tom Glover, Alex Bangura, Sonny Finch and Rav van den Berg as earning less than him.

Hackney's performances - despite some poor displays at times this season - over the last few years have him as part of an elite group of Championship central midfielders for many followers of second tier football, but is he being paid like one?

Despite being deployed out wide in recent times, Sunderland's Enzo Le Fee is a central midfielder by trade, with Capology detailing the Roma loanee as earning a weekly wage of £67,500.

A name that will be familiar to Middlesbrough fans is Lewis O'Brien, having enjoyed a solid season on loan from Nottingham Forest last term. Even so, many will be shocked to see him listed as earning £50,000 per week whilst on loan at Swansea City.

Burnley star Josh Brownhill has established himself as one of the best central midfielders in the Championship during his time with the Clarets, with his weekly wage packet standing at £45,000, whilst his midfield partner Josh Cullen is on a cool £40,000 per week.

Sheffield United's Vinicius Souza is also firmly in the debate as being the best central midfielder in the Championship, with the Blades star earning £30,000 per week at Bramall Lane.

Star Championship midfielders earning less than Hackney

Those figures don't exactly make for great reading as far as Hackney is concerned, but is he being massively short-changed on his current Middlesbrough contract, or are there other centre midfield stars in the Championship earning a similar amount or perhaps even less?

Shea Charles has been arguably Sheffield Wednesday's best player this season, having joined on loan from Southampton in the summer. The 21-year-old is, however, earning slightly less than Hackney, as he's listed as being on a weekly wage of £6,000.

Blackburn's Lewis Travis is perhaps one of the more underrated central midfielders in the second tier, having proven himself as being a quality player in the Championship for a number of years at Ewood Park.

His weekly wage packet probably reflects that notion too, as he's listed as earning just £3,462 per week as a Rovers' player this season. Travis' Blackburn comrade Sondre Tronstad has also been playing at a high level for the club since signing from Vitesse in July 2023, with the Norwegian earning £5,000 per week.

Bristol City's Max Bird is also perhaps in that category of underappreciated centre midfielders in the Championship, as the 24-year-old is having a stellar season for the Robins this term. However, he is stated as earning just £3,077 per week at Ashton Gate.

Heading back to Bramall Lane, Sheffield United's other central midfielders Sydie Peck and Ollie Arblaster are two of the most exciting young players in that position in the Championship. However, Peck is stated as earning £3,000 per week, whilst Arblaster is on even less than that, with his weekly wage packet standing at just £2,000.

Middlesbrough may need to hand Hackney improved contract

Judging by some of those figures from across the Championship, Middlesbrough may well be slightly underpaying Hackney for how important he's been to Carrick's side over the last couple of years.

However, there are seemingly other quality central midfielders earning even less than the Boro star. Either way, the Teessiders seem to be getting excellent value for their money on Hackney's contract.

But, with multiple top Premier League clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle United all being linked with a move for him in recent times, Boro appear to be running the risk of it not taking much for a club to come in and offer a much more lucrative financial package to their ascending midfielder.

Therefore, should Middlesbrough fail to win promotion to the Premier League this season, retaining his services for another season may prove tough, especially if he has a strong individual end to the campaign.

Hackney is contracted at the Riverside until the summer of 2027, however, meaning not only do the Teessiders sit in a strong position to command whatever fee they wish, but they also have plenty of time to tie him down long-term to an improved deal.