Meet Everton’s homegrown Hayden Hackney

Everton have signed Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough, and the key thing here is that the 23-year-old chose the Hill Dickinson over the myriad of other Premier League grounds willing to house him next season, and beyond.

Hackney is an inherently creative midfielder, but he is also a natural-born leader with a combative side to boot. It’s easy to see why so many Premier League outfits had a vested interest, and it’s delightful to note that he picked the Toffees.

But what makes him so good? Why did Everton place so much emphasis onto getting this deal over the line, battling their way through protracted negotiations?

Everton paid an initial £16.5m fee, and that figure could grow to £25m. Hackney might just be worth all the effort there.

Why Everton have signed Hayden Hackney

Hailed as a “pure passer” by analyst Raj Chohan, Hackney should thrive as a traffic warden at the heart of David Moyes‘ system, directing the flow of Everton’s attacking press and adding a dimension that was lacking across the 2025/26 season.

Everton could almost taste European football in March. Having dispatched Chelsea 3-0 in the Premier League, they were only five points off fifth-place rivals Liverpool, on the edge of Champions League territory.

But it all fell apart over those final few months, and Moyes needs to find a formula that will carry the Merseysiders further forward next year. Hackney could hold the key there, and no mistake.

There is belief on the blue half of Merseyside that Hackney can emulate former English Championship midfielders such as James Garner and Adam Wharton and Alex Scott in growing into a superstar, with a specialist technical skillset.

Garner really grew into his skin for Everton last season, becoming a centrepiece. However, Garner is not a deep midfielder with the expansiveness on the ball that Hackney will provide.

It’s a wonderful new dimension which could help shape the upcoming chapter for the Toffees, but let’s not forget that Everton already have a homegrown version of the former Boro captain.

Everton already have a homegrown Hayden Hackney

Everton needed a bit more oomph last season. Perhaps Moyes had that in mind when he recalled Harrison Armstrong from his loan spell with Preston North End midway through the year.

The 19-year-old is a skilled and versatile midfielder, someone who is touted for big things in an Everton shirt, having thrived for the youth academy and impressed with his athleticism and ability to carry the ball into dangerous positions, showing strength and slickness there.

Whereas Hackney will instil coherence across the thirds, Armstrong’s natural urge to attack could see him add yet another dimension to Moyes’ Everton team next year. Together, the midfielders could prove the difference.

According to Preston supporters, Armstrong “will play for England one day“. He has the complete profile to thrive in the Premier League and earn that elusive call-up. In that, he could actually emerge as Hackney’s rival down the line.

Perhaps Armstrong is more efficient as a physical vessel, and Hackney offering a bit more natural flair when distributing, but there’s no question that both have a wealth of qualities that could see them thrive at the highest level of English football, with both having forged those skillsets through hard graft in the Championship.

Armstrong’s high-energy football will see him earn further chances to impress in the Premier League next year (he featured ten times after being recalled from his loan spell with Preston).

He still needs to develop further, but he’s a naturally gifted dueller and a technically sound player who could even emerge as a fine counterpoint to Hackney’s skillset in the centre.

Is it a bad thing that Everton have signed Hackney with a similar profile in Armstrong already making his way to the shoreline? Hardly. If anything, it only deepens the dynamism of this project.

With such profiles coming through, Everton might just have the requisite quality to burrow up onto European ground next season.