Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing the Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, according to a report from the Standard.
The 21-year-old defensive midfielder has attracted the attention of top Premier League clubs with his performances for the Championship outfit this season.
The report claims that Middlesbrough are prepared to sell the midfielder in January if a sensational offer is submitted. Otherwise, they will wait until the summer transfer window to sanction his departure.
Hackney is a talented young player with immense potential and he could develop into a key player for the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham with the right guidance.
Liverpool could certainly use a quality defensive midfielder and Hackney could be the ideal long-term replacement for players like Jordan Henderson. The former Liverpool captain left the club at the start of the season along with Fabinho and Liverpool failed to replace them with a specialist defensive midfielder. They tried to sign players like Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia last summer, but both players ended up moving to Chelsea instead.
Liverpool have had to use Alexis Mac Allister as a makeshift defensive midfielder this season and the arrival of Hackney would certainly solve that problem. The Argentine international is more suited to the role of a creative central midfielder and signing a defensive midfielder would allow the South American to play with more freedom in his natural role.
Hackney would be a future investment
Meanwhile, Manchester United could use more depth in the defensive midfield department as well. Casemiro has been a shadow of his former self this season and he might need to be replaced soon. The 21-year-old could prove to be a quality long-term replacement if he moved to Old Trafford.
As for Tottenham, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been linked with an exit from the north London club and Spurs will need to replace him adequately. Signing the talented Championship midfielder could prove to be a superb future investment for the North Londoners.
Hackney is likely to be attracted to the idea of playing for all three clubs if there is a concrete proposal on the table, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up if he leaves Boro in the summer.
