‘It was always going to be Everton’ – Hackney says he is ‘delighted’ to join Moyes’ side
· Yahoo Sports
Everton have confirmed the signing of Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee.
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The 24-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the Merseyside club after an impressive season in the Championship last year.
Although Middlesbrough lost the play-off final 1-0 to Hull City, Hackney was named the Championship player of the year. He will now get his chance to play in the Premier League.
“I’m delighted to be here,” the midfielder said. “As soon as I spoke to the manager, as soon as I knew Everton were interested, to be honest, it was always going to be Everton. It’s such a big club, with the new stadium and the direction it’s going in. I just wanted to be part of that.
“The manager’s track record of bringing players from the Championship to the Premier League was a massive part of my decision as well. Hopefully I can be the next one to do it successfully for Everton.
“It feels like a good fit for me, for sure. I think it’s a given that you work hard, you run, you make tackles. I’ll be doing that.
“I think fans can expect a bit of everything from me – attacking and defensively. I think I can carry the ball well, arrive late in the box, and hopefully score some goals. I think there’s plenty more to come from me. Obviously, I haven’t played in the Premier League yet, so once I get used to that I think I can kick on from there.
“It was big for me to get it done before the start of pre-season. I wanted to be here on day one and do the whole pre-season with the lads. I can’t wait for it. It helps with everything. Obviously, it’s a new set of lads who I’ll get used to and then also living down here. I’m delighted.”
Everton boss David Moyes was full of praise for his new signing.
“Hayden is a promising young player who we’ve been tracking for some time, and I’m looking forward to working with him.” he said.
“We’ve had a track record over the years of identifying players in the Championship who have gone on to do really well for us and been good investments. We hope that will be the case with Hayden, too.
“He’s an England Under-21 international who will provide greater competition in midfield, which is something I wanted going into the new season.”