Liverpool really want to sign 21-year-old midfielder who caused massive shock last night

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool are hot on the trail of one of the Championship’s best midfield talents.

Despite signing four new midfielders over the summer, the Reds could still perhaps do with one or two more.

With that in mind, The Standard have claimed that Liverpool are very keen on bringing Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney to Anfield.

Hackney is currently the toast of the town having scored the only goal of Boro’s 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg win over Chelsea last night. And according to The Standard, a number of top sides – including Liverpool – want to sign him.

As you can imagine, Boro are not minded to sell their academy graduate, though. It’s claimed that it would take a ‘sensational’ offer to get him away from the Riverside Stadium this month. In summer it could be a different story however, with the Championship side reportedly hoping to create a bidding war for Hackney’s services.

Tottenham Hotspur are said to be at the top of the list of sides most interested in the 21-year-old. But as well as Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester City are claimed to really want Hackney to help fill their homegrown quota. With this in mind, a premium has reportedly been added to the midfielder.

Liverpool want homegrown Hackney

Liverpool’s lack of homegrown players in the squad is a little bit of a concern moving forward.

It’s apparently part of the reason the Reds are not yet fully sold on the idea of signing Genoa’s Danish midfielder Morten Frendrup. It would seem that Liverpool would prefer one or two of their upcoming additions to be British.

That’s undoubtedly part of what made Jude Bellingham extra desirable last summer. Had the Birmingham academy graduate been signed, he’d have been the ultimate homegrown addition.

But with Bellingham heading to Real Madrid instead, none of the Reds four new players fell into the category.

With English players in particular coming at such a high cost, the natural step is to look for youth.

The Championship is full of up and coming young players. Liverpool have one of their own – Tyler Morton – currently doing the business at Hull City.

But with Morton already on the books, there’s still room for more to be added.

Having put Chelsea to the sword last night, it seems as though other sides have got the same idea about Hackney. Liverpool may have to move quickly and decisively if they truly do want to add the England U21 star to their squad.