Sunderland have agreed to sell Jobe Bellingham for more than £30 million to Borussia Dortmund, and Middlesbrough should keep an eye on that trade when it comes to Hayden Hackney.
It is understood that Dortmund will pay the Black Cats an initial cost of £27.8 million, with an additional £4.2 million in add-ons being negotiated.
As a result, the Sunderland star will now follow in his brother’s footsteps by joining the Bundesliga club, dealing a significant blow to the Wearsiders as they prepare for their first season back in the Premier League since 2017.
Middlesbrough, its North East rivals, should also be paying close eye to this big-money signing, since they have their own central midfield jewel in Hayden Hackney, who might be on the move this summer.
Middlesbrough should see Jobe Bellingham’s fee as the Hayden Hackney guiding price.
Hackney has established himself as one of the EFL’s finest young talents in recent years, rising through Middlesbrough’s development system to a full-time starring role in the first squad in October 2022.
The Redcar-born centre midfielder is coming off perhaps his best season in a Boro shirt, scoring five goals and providing three assists in 43 Championship games in 2024/25.
As a result, word of his exploits and potential has spread, with Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, and Crystal Palace previously expressing interest in him.
He’s also sparked interest across the continent, with German club Stuttgart and Portuguese heavyweights Porto both heavily connected with a move for him, with the latter even having a £10 million approach rejected in the winter window.
So, how does this relate to Bellingham’s £30 million+ sale to Borussia Dortmund? Well, there is convincing evidence that Hackney has just had a better individual season in the Championship than the Sunderland player.
| Hackney v Bellingham 24/25 Championship stats – per FotMob | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Expected assists | Chances created | Shots | Accurate passes per 90 |
| Hayden Hackney | 43 | 5 | 3 | 5.96 | 66 | 57 | 61.9 |
| Jobe Bellingham | 40 | 4 | |||||
Last season, Boro’s midfielder scored more goals, created more opportunities, took more shots, and outperformed Bellingham in nearly every significant offensive category in the Championship, according to FotMob.
The Sunderland guy did have somewhat higher figures in a couple of defensive metrics, but many, particularly on Teesside, will argue that Hackney is just as good, if not significantly better, than Bellingham right now.
However, there appears to be an agreement among those in the know and across media outlets that Hackney’s price range will likely fall between £20 and £25 million.
Indeed, GIVEMESPORT revealed that Boro had slapped a £25 million price tag on him during the recent winter window, which should be considered as a true premium number given that teams typically boost their asking prices for their elite players at that time of the season.
Middlesbrough may not rely as heavily on Hackney as Sunderland does on Bellingham for one major reason.
However, there is one apparent elephant in the room as to why Sunderland was able to charge such a high amount for Bellingham, and why Boro may be unable to match it with any Hackney sale: Premier League football.
There’s a reason why the Championship play-off final is dubbed the ‘richest game in football’: the winner enjoys the riches of top division football, with the BBC estimating a minimum of £220 million in additional revenue for the winners.
As a result, Sunderland AFC will not be under any real pressure to sell unless they receive an eye-watering price, which they can expect from teams given their newfound cash.
Middlesbrough, on the other hand, does not have that luxury, and until they do, it will be much more difficult to raise the prices of their key players as long as they remain in the Championship.
As a result, while Boro fans may feel shortchanged if Hackney is sold for less than Sunderland paid for Bellingham last summer, the reality is that they are not in as strong a selling position as their Wearside rivals, which might cost them millions.
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