Overall, 2025-26 has been a fantastic season for Middlesbrough.
They sit second in the Championship table, having lost only three of their first 21 games, with a seven-point lead over third place.
They survived Rob Edwards’ sudden and unexpected move to Wolves in November, and his replacement, Kim Hellberg, has kept them on track in the early season.
Midfielder Hayden Hackney, who has continued to excel in the center of their midfield, has been one of their biggest success stories this season.
Hackney considered leaving The Riverside Stadium in the summer, but eventually stayed and has had a significant impact on their great first half of the season. However, with the January transfer window approaching, predators are starting to circle, and Middlesbrough may require a replacement for him by the end of next month.
“They would be perfect”: Middlesbrough urged to aim high if Hayden Hackney leaves in January.
With all of this in mind, Football League World asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit Liam Day who he’d want as a replacement if Hayden Hackney leaves in the January transfer window, and Liam admits that Hackney will be a difficult act to follow: “I believe it will be nearly impossible for us to sign a direct replacement for Hayden Hackney. I believe he has vital abilities in dribbling and passing throughout the midfield.”
Liam had two names in mind for a potential replacement, the first of whom was been the topic of a lot of transfer talk throughout the summer: “It may be unrealistic, but could you approach Dortmund for a Jobe Bellingham loan, perhaps? That seems like a solid option to me. He isn’t getting much game time. It definitely feels like he’s above the Championship, but it may be something we look into.”
The second name that came to mind was another player who helped Sunderland gain promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season: “Also, Dan Neil at Sunderland. Again, it may be idealistic, but we removed Alan Brown from their hands. He doesn’t get much game time there, so he’ll be looking forward to it. He recently got Sunderland promoted. I wouldn’t mind having him come in for six months or seeing if we could work out a permanent arrangement. That, I believe, would be an adequate successor. “They understand the league.”
However, Liam recognises that these two players would be audacious goals for Middlesbrough if Hayden Hackney left The Riverside Stadium in January: “The only problem is that I don’t know how realistic they are, and I’m not sure if either team would want to get rid of them. But if we could find a player with some experience in this level, particularly one who has recently been promoted, they would be ideal.”
Middlesbrough will need to be ambitious in order to adequately replace Hayden Hackney.
There is no denying how essential Hayden Hackney has been to Middlesbrough’s success this season. He’s scored three goals and provided five assists for them thus far, and his performance ratings have been outstanding.
Hackney was the subject of significant transfer rumors this summer, but he declined a move to Ipswich Town after being granted permission to talk with the club. Earlier this summer, he signed a contract extension with the club until 2027, assuring that Middlesbrough would receive a higher transfer price if he left within the next year.
And our Boro fan pundit’s choices are undoubtedly ambitious, albeit they may not be unattainable. Jobe Bellingham was linked with a move from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund worth up to £31 million in the summer, but he’s battled for game time this season, with only five starts from 14 Bundesliga outings and poor match ratings when he has played for them. He was sent off against Freiburg over the weekend, prompting The Sun to describe his stint at the club as “a nightmare.”
Dan Neil was also a fixture on Sunderland’s promotion-winning squad. He chose to stay at The Stadium of Light throughout the summer and paid a price for it. Neil made 47 appearances in the Black Cats’ Championship play-off-winning side last season, but has been usurped in the centre of their midfield by their summer rebuild, and has only made two one-minute appearances in the Premier League this season, as well as one full appearance in the EFL Cup; he has since been linked with a move to Frank Lampard’s Coventry City.
Either player would be audacious goals for Boro, but the fact that they are now second in the Championship may make them more tempting to players looking for playing time. Jobe Bellingham is still playing for Dortmund this season and may be slightly out of Boro’s league, but Dan Neill appears to be a feasible trade that would benefit both parties.
But the fact remains that whoever replaces Hayden Hackney will have enormous shoes to fill at the Riverside Stadium. Hackney has been a wonderful servant to the club, with over 130 games to his name, and his decision to stay at Boro last summer suggested that his impending exit from the club may not be a done deal just yet. However, Middlesbrough must be prepared for the prospect, and if Boro are to lose and adequately replace a player of that caliber, they must be ambitious.
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