Middlesbrough’s quest for a Hayden Hackney replacement is poised to begin quickly after the club sealed a contract with Everton for last season’s Championship Player of the Year.

The 23-year-old Middlesbrough academy graduate was key to Kim Hellberg’s high-intensity, thrilling brand of football, which delighted Championship supporters in part last season, and his untimely injury coincided with the club’s drop from the automatic promotion places and into the playoffs.

Since Borough lost the play-off final to Hull City and it became clear that Hackney would be approaching the final year of his contract, a sale seemed imminent, as the Riverside club sought to ensure that their most saleable commodity would not leave for free this time next year.

Indeed, Everton are likely to sign him for up to £25 million, according to the Telegraph on Monday, but the same story also stated that Borough was in negotiations with recently relegated League One side Leicester City about signing Oliver Skipp.

Skipp was solid, but not outstanding, during the Foxes’ consecutive relegations from the Premier League to the third tier after arriving at the King Power Stadium two years ago for a fee in excess of £20 million, so seeing him linked in response to a Hackney deal was somewhat concerning.

Middlesbrough throws light on Oliver Skipp ties following Hayden Hackney’s exit.

The club has dispelled the outrage that some Middlesbrough fans felt when they learned that their team would replace one of their most valuable assets in a long time with a defensive midfielder who was demoted from their league last year, which may come as a relief.

According to Teesside Live, the Riverside’s higher-ups do admire Skipp. Boro’s head of football, Kieran Scott, and head of recruiting, Chris Jones, were both actively engaged in bringing a then-19-year-old Tottenham youth player to Norwich City on loan in 2020.

Crucially, they do not consider him as a clear substitute for Hackney, viewing the 25-year-old as a typical, defensive-minded number six rather than the dynamic, exciting number eight that Hackney is.

Furthermore, there were some worries raised by The Telegraph’s report on Monday about the price being proposed for Skipp, with John Percy claiming that Leicester wanted £15 million for the defensive midfielder.

It has been told that the price tag is “way beyond” Boro’s means. If Skipp makes his way to the Riverside this summer, it will be for a charge that the higher-ups think appropriate, which is believed to be significantly less than the exorbitant eight-figure payment.

How Middlesbrough fans are reacting to Oliver Skipp’s move news

While Middlesbrough fans can breathe a sigh of relief that the club is not actually aiming to replace the league’s top player with someone who has only scored once for a relegated team, nor are they willing to spend £15 million on him, some are nonetheless concerned about this report.

It appears that they would have preferred not to be associated with Skipp in the first place. With Aidan Morris having a career year as a defensive midfielder under Kim Hellberg, it’s easy to see why.

“Oh, God. Please, no. One admirer expressed concern that the release of the piece on X indicates a genuine interest in him.”We don’t think he’s the Hackney replacement; the issue is that he’s awful and paying even £5 million would be a scam,” another added.”Very concerning if he is a player our recruitment team rates,” was another response, implying that Borough could be in for a difficult summer window if things continue to progress as they have in terms of finding a new midfielder.

It’s not the most thrilling speculation of the transfer window at Middlesbrough, and the majority of folks in the Riverside stands would prefer that they weren’t interested in Skipp at all.