Town boss Kieran McKenna believes he has a really strong midfield unit at his disposal, despite summer target Hayden Hackney, who the Blues face at Middlesbrough on Friday evening, having turned down a move to Portman Road.

In July, TWTD revealed that the Blues and Boro had agreed a £15 million rising to £20 million fee for the 23-year-old.

However, early in August, having been at the club to look around the stadium and training ground, and with personal terms also settled with the former England U21 international’s representatives, the midfielder opted against making the switch.

Asked what he likes about Hackney, McKenna said: “It’s obvious, he’s a really good player at this level, a top player. And I think he’s a really important part of their game model. He was under Michael [Carrick] originally in terms of playing with a double-pivot, both who take the ball. I think [Aidan] Morris has been in excellent form as well.

“So between the two of them, they’ve played together now for a couple of seasons. A big part of their game is connecting through those two midfielders. 

“And when a team plays like that, you’ve got to work really, really hard to stop the ball, reaching those areas first and foremost. And then you need to have a good plan for how to close up the areas that they want to get to from there. 

“Middlesbrough have got good players. Hayden is certainly one of those. Him, Morris and [Sverre] Nypan has obviously joined them this year, but they have a strong selection of midfielders. It’s an important part of their game style. And we’ve got to work really, really hard to defend those areas.”

Reflecting on where his midfield unit is now having brought Jens Cajuste back for a second loan from Napoli and signed Marcelino Nunez from Norwich since the Hackney deal broke down, McKenna said: “I think we're in a strong spot. In every transfer window, there’s a whole list of players that you’re interested in. Some arrive and some don’t arrive, and some are more public and some are less public, that people never hear about.

“I think we’ve ended up with a really strong unit. I think you can see it in the growth and the performances. 

“You can see it in the players that we’ve got there and with them all fit at the moment. And Jens physically, seems to be progressing really well as well. So, there are lots of positives there for us. 

“If we can keep them all fit and available and we can keep working with Azor [Matusiwa] and Marcelino, still really, really new to the club, Jens is really new to the division, and with Jack Taylor and Cam Humphries there, I think we’ve got really good strength and really good options.”

Photo: MI News via Reuters Connect

KBsSocks added 15:07 - Oct 15 Maybe next season, then lol ?
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StowTractor added 15:07 - Oct 15 For the first 4 games it seemed that young Hayden had made the right choice. In the block of games in between the 2 international breaks much less so. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday and in the block of games either side of the next break. And if the clubs league positions are reversed towards the end of December, will he want to change his decision? And if he did would we still be interested at that price?

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ArnieM added 15:17 - Oct 15 I wonder if Mr Hackney might come to regret not joining us ?
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Gforce added 15:35 - Oct 15 "He's a really good player at this level,a top player ". But is he good enough for the premier league? 20 million is a lot to spend if not .
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terryf added 17:13 - Oct 15 Can see him ending up at Spurs. Doubt we will be interested in January as we look pretty strong in the midfield now. More likely we'll see Samy back with us in some capacity?
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armchaircritic59 added 19:33 - Oct 15 He wanted to hold out to see if a Premier league club would come in for him. They didn't. Maybe it's a case of him thinking he's actually a bit better than he really is? Or maybe he's just done what I wouldn't blame him for, trying to do the best for him and his career. On the first point, we may go some way to finding that out on Friday night!
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arc added 23:23 - Oct 15 I wouldn't be surprised to see McK play Matusiwa, Cajuste, and Nunez together in this one. Especially with Szmodics and Egeli carrying niggles. Crowd the midfield.
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