Town are reportedly willing to pay Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney £35,000-a-week, TWTD having revealed that the Blues had made an approach for the 23-year-old almost a fortnight ago.

As previously reported, Hackney has been on Town’s radar all summer but with the interest stepped up a couple of weeks ago. We understand progress has been made on the move since then.

Now, according to The Sun’s Alan Nixon on his Patreon page, the Blues are willing to pay Hackney £35,000 if he completes a move to Portman Road in a £20 million deal, a higher sum than was initially offered.

Premier League interest had been expected in Hackney this summer with the player keen to move to the top flight, but, as we revealed, none has shown the same level of interest as the Blues.

Yesterday, Hackney was left out of the Boro side which drew 2-2 with Rangers at Ibrox due to a minor injury, which manager Rob Edwards insisted had nothing to do with the Redcar-born schemer’s future.

“H felt a little bit of pain in the back of his knee yesterday and at the minute, we can’t risk anything,” he told Teesside Live.

“We wouldn’t want to do that with any player at this time. It’s nothing to do with anything transfer-wise. There was genuine pain there and Reidy [head physio Adam Reid] said it’s just not worth the risk.

“We kept him at home where he’s able to get some treatment. Listen, we have got good players and there is always going to be interest and speculation. But this one was genuinely just a bit of pain in the knee and is genuinely nothing to worry about.”

Despite having signed Dutchman Azor Matusiwa from Rennes in France, the Blues are in the market for more central midfielders with loanees Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips having moved on at the end of the season, Massimo Luongo released before joining Millwall and skipper Sam Morsy switching to Kuwait SC earlier in the week.

One-time Scunthorpe loanee Hackney, who is contracted until the summer of 2027, came through the youth system at Boro, his local club, having joined the club as an U10.

He was part of the England U21s squad which won the European Championships in Slovakia last month alongside Town forward Omari Hutchinson.

Meanwhile, Nixon is also linking the Blues with Scotland international striker Oli McBurnie, but with his former club Swansea said to be winning the race for the 29-year-old.

McBurnie, who is also said to be interesting Hull City, has been with Las Palmas in Spain having signed a three-year deal last July, but is a free agent following their relegation from La Liga.

He left Sheffield United last summer on a free transfer, having joined the Blades from the Swans for a fee which eventually totalled around £20 million in July 2019.

While the Blues are on the lookout for another striker, probably two, before the window closes, it would be a surprise if they moved for McBurnie.

Photo: MI News via Reuters Connect

flykickingbybgunn added 10:03 - Jul 27 Good to see they are thinking bold. There is always loads going on behind the scenes. We just have to be patient.
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BlueInBerks added 10:10 - Jul 27 As much as I like the idea, "reportedly" dampens realistic hopes as ITFC are not about to discuss fees before they happen.
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gkroon89 added 10:16 - Jul 27 £20 million for mediocre championship players. Wow we are a club that gets ripped off in transfers and have not learned our lesson from the last transfer windows.
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MickMillsTash added 10:18 - Jul 27 Sounds like he is on the move, I Hope 35K/week and a 20Mill fee is sustainable for ITFC Does this guy pass the 'physical' test that Ashton talked about ?
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tivo added 10:19 - Jul 27 @gkroon ... mediocre? Not quite.
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tivo added 10:19 - Jul 27 @gkroon ... mediocre? Not quite.
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del45 added 10:24 - Jul 27 BlueinBerks well said wait to hear from the club.
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del45 added 10:24 - Jul 27 BlueinBerks well said wait to hear from the club.
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del45 added 10:24 - Jul 27 BlueinBerks well said wait to hear from the club.
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inghamspur added 10:37 - Jul 27 We are in desperate need of another striker, given Hirst's injury record.
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Lightningboy added 10:42 - Jul 27 McBurnie will be trouble..can see it now. Would rather see us go back for Kiefer Moore as back up to Hirst.
6

Bert added 10:52 - Jul 27 I doubt it would be anything like that but it does indicate that whilst our owners are not going to go all guns blazing, there is money available for decent players who look capable of a step up to the PL. The next two weeks will see a lot of media stories as agents push their players into the shop window.
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blues1 added 10:55 - Jul 27 Mickmillstash. Not every single player we sign has to be physical. All theyve said is they need more physicality in the squad. Which the signings wevd made so far have given us
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scottish_williee21 added 10:59 - Jul 27 Please, don’t suffer us with getting McBurnie, 100% agree with lightningboy on that. Also seems a bit over the top for Hackney. Then again I’ve not seen him play much just don’t know if it’s worth it or not. However I’ve been saying it for weeks Josh brownhill is still a free agent he had a fantastic season with Burnley last season…
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SuffolkPunchFC added 11:00 - Jul 27 @gkroom presumably you don't football, because if I'm not mistaken that's the same Hackney that just won the U21a championship. Maybe you consider Hutchinson and Delap overrated Championship players too, both having been a big part of that same squad (even if Delap choose to skip the finals)
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filobiz added 11:07 - Jul 27 looks absolute class. a true 'baller. hope we get him. cannot wait for this season to start
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Monkey_Blue added 11:08 - Jul 27 gkroon89.. £20m for a mediocre championship player? And yet we get very poor trolls like you for free. Can’t we release him?
15

jas0999 added 11:17 - Jul 27 Knowing Phillips and Jens were leaving, it’s surprising we have allowed Morsy to leave with only one CM signed. Shortfall of three, when you consider Luongo as well. We need to urgently bring in players including a striker, especially as Hirst in injury prone. Less than two weeks to kick off.
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Linkboy13 added 11:28 - Jul 27 Unfortunately if you buy players in this country you have to pay well over the odds as we discovered last season. We really need to produce our own young talent and hopefully this will happen now that we are academy category one status. At the moment we need to be building for now . 20 million is rather a lot for someone who might not do it in the Premier league.
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del45 added 11:29 - Jul 27 By the way saw this story on Facebook about 2hr ago ??
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Tedray added 11:35 - Jul 27 I think that Hackney could pretty well guarantee us promotion - perhaps the missing important cog. Also pleases to see Jaden doing well the other evening. He does not appear to be an out and out striker but has the excellent knack of scoring goals. Let us hope that he blossoms with Ipswich ,so all the best to the player
11

SickParrot added 11:36 - Jul 27 Hackney? Yes please. McBurnie? No thanks. He would be a strong, physical signing but his behaviour on the pitch is often unacceptable. I would be very surprised if we were interested in him.
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Broadbent23 added 11:45 - Jul 27 Our parachute payment would help with HH's wages. The concern is that we get another striker and midfielder before the transfer window shuts. It appears that Brentford 's players are not happy; therefore OH would think twice if £40m is offered. The current squad is strong but needs to be injury proof.
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tetchris added 11:46 - Jul 27 Kieffer Moore on a one year contract with club option for another year would be better than McBurnie?
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ArnieM added 11:46 - Jul 27 SuffolkPunchFC: gkroom wouldn't know a decent footballer if one smacked him in the face, hes a budgie. What the hell would he know lol !!
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