Nottingham Forest figure watched Hayden Hackney last week

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Nottingham Forest are keen to sign Middlesbrough performer Hayden Hackney in January or next summer. Sporting director Ross Wilson watched the player last week and Forest could now make a move.

According to The Sun, Forest would like to sign more domestic players to boost their homegrown quota. The Reds added 13 players during the summer transfer window and now they will focus on talent on these shores.

Hackney recently chose to play for England ahead of Scotland. The player had collected three under-21 caps for the Tartan Army but has now chosen to play for the England under-21s instead.

Forest want to sign the player who has come through the academy ranks for Middlesbrough. They have a proud history of producing players and Forest have been watching Hackney very closely.

The central midfielder has been a regular in the Boro team this season. He clearly has the backing of Michael Carrick and he won’t want to lose him any time soon.

Hackney has made nine appearances in all competitions during 2023/24. He’s made 50 appearances in total and as a homegrown player, Boro will probably demand a decent fee for him.

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Carrick is a huge fan of Hackney. He called him ‘terrific’ last season as Boro reached the Championship play-offs before losing to Coventry in the semi-final.

Boro haven’t started the season particularly well. They defeated Southampton 2-1 yesterday to claim the first win of the season and now they will hope to kick on.

Forest will now decide when best to pounce to try and sign the midfielder. January does seem unlikely and perhaps they will choose to sign him next summer instead.

The Reds have a number of midfielders in their ranks and perhaps Hackney won’t see the pathway has being overly clear at the City Ground right now.

More domestic players would certainly be ideal though. Given the Premier League stipulations, the club must have so many in their 25-man squad and Hackney would help Forest with that.