‘That’s the Dream’—Man Utd Midfield Target Gives Verdict on Deadline Day Switch

Michael Carrick has been tipped to reunite with a familiar face.

Man Utd are looking to rebuild their midfield. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney has confirmed he will not be leaving the club on Deadline Day in the face of interest from Manchester United and is instead focused on his dream of winning promotion.

United are thought to be long-term admirers of 23-year-old Hackney and suggestions of a possible winter transfer were reignited by the return of former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick to the Old Trafford dugout last month.

Midfield is a priority area for United across 2026, but Hackney has confirmed he will not be making the move to Old Trafford—or anywhere else—before Monday’s deadline.

“No,” he said when asked about a possible departure. “I’m really happy.

“The manager [Kim Hellberg] has got me playing the way I enjoy playing, getting the best out of me. So yeah, I’m really enjoying it. This is what I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a kid, play for Middlesbrough.

“And where we are in the league at the minute, as long as we just keep going, we feel confident. Winning promotion with Middlesbrough would mean everything to me. I don’t know how I’d be, but I know I’d be over the moon. That is the dream.”

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United Preparing for Ambitious Summer Transfer Window

Elliot Anderson (left) and Adam Wharton (right) are both admired at Man Utd. | BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

While there may not be any fresh faces heading to Old Trafford before Monday’s deadline, United are already hard at work ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer transfer window.

In midfield, United are expected to go “very big” to make a handful of new signings, with both space and funds freed up by the impending departure of Casemiro.

Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba are all big-money targets who could cost close to £100 million ($137 million) each.

Behind that trio, Hackney is among those to have been repeatedly mentioned, with Carrick likely to have given a ringing endorsement of a player who he handed 104 appearances across all competitions between the 2022–23 and 2024–25 campaigns.

“You couldn’t ask for much more from Hayden,” Carrick said during his time as Boro manager in 2024. “He’s grounded, he’s humble, he’s down to earth and loves to learn. He loves the place and he loves the club as well. To have that, added with the talent he has got, it’s the perfect scenario.”

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