For most of the summer transfer window so far, Everton have appeared to be ahead of Crystal Palace in the race to sign Hayden Hackney.
Both the Eagles and the Toffees have been credited with an interest in taking the England U21 international away from Middlesbrough – a detail the Guardian and the Telegraph have covered.
However, a more recent story from Alan Nixon earlier this week on Patreon stated that Everton are ahead in the race and are willing to spend £20m on Hackney – who is keen on a move to Merseyside.
That seemed like a blow for Crystal Palace, but there has now been a new development which suggests the tide has turned.
Who is your DREAM signing? ⭐️
Everton in pole position to sign a different midfielder in Pape Gueye
Matteo Moretto – a very reliable Spanish journalist – is now telling Radio Marca that Everton are in pole position to sign Pape Gueye from Villarreal.
The Senegal international is a central midfielder like Hackney, and considering David Moyes already has the likes of James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam, Idrissa Gueye, Harrison Armstrong, Merlin Rohl and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to fill just two midfield slots in his preferred formation, it feels unlikely they would sign both Gueye and Hackney.
Mike McGrath of the Telegraph stated in May that the Middlesbrough No.7 is the number one transfer target at Selhurst Park this summer – so it would not come as a surprise if Crystal Palace have pushed hard enough to finally force Everton to pursue an alternative.
Contrastingly, Hackney is the only central midfielder Crystal Palace have been concretely linked to, which suggests Matt Hobbs is firmly focused on landing the 24-year-old and will not contemplate an alternative.
The Eagles can also offer Hackney UEFA Europa League football next term, and have proven immensely capable of developing Championship talent into elite footballers, as seen in the progress of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Adam Wharton.
Initial thoughts on Pierre Sage? 🤔
He can boast a 67.5% win ratio from 40 games at RC Lens 😍
Therefore, while Hackney is said to prefer Everton, a switch to SE25 is hardly an unattractive move to make at the moment – to say the least.
