Middlesbrough and Preston North End both face significant midfield rebuilding jobs ahead of the upcoming Championship season, with a familiar name emerging as a target for both clubs.
Preston are set to lose captain Ben Whiteman to Wrexham in a £3m deal, with the 30-year-old having spent five and a half years at Deepdale.
Middlesbrough’s loss is arguably even more damaging, with Championship Player of the Year Hayden Hackney departing for Everton in a deal worth an initial £16.5m.
Hackney, now working under David Moyes at Everton, leaves a significant void at the Riverside that manager Kim Hellberg must address before the new campaign begins.
Hellberg has indicated there are more signings to come this summer, with the likes of Radek Vitek and Ashley Phillips among those under consideration at the club.
Middlesbrough have already moved to address the midfield gap by signing United States international Sebastian Berhalter from Vancouver Whitecaps, a player who scored and assisted ten goals in just 14 MLS games in 2026.
Berhalter averaged 2.8 key passes per game and created 11 big chances during that stint, figures that compare favorably with Hackney’s own return of 12 goal involvements and 2.2 key passes per game last season.
However, the question remains whether one signing is enough to replace a player who ranked second in the entire Championship for key passes last season with 85, and whether Berhalter can replicate his MLS form in English football.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider has revealed that Preston are lining up a move for Leicester City midfielder Oliver Skipp, with the Deepdale hierarchy hopeful of securing the 25-year-old on loan.
A loan deal appears the most realistic route given that Skipp joined Leicester in a deal worth between £20m and £25m just two years ago, making a permanent transfer difficult for Championship clubs to finance.
Middlesbrough have also been linked with the former Tottenham Hotspur man this summer, though talk of a £15m asking price is reported to have previously put them off pursuing a deal.
Skipp, a Spurs academy graduate, was notably hailed as a “future captain” by Jose Mourinho during his time at the north London club, highlighting the high regard in which he was once held.
His most impressive spell came during a 2020/21 loan at Norwich City, where he started 44 games as Daniel Farke’s side won the Championship title that season.
During that campaign in Norfolk, Skipp posted an 88% pass accuracy rate, marginally ahead of Hackney’s 86% average from last season, underlining his credentials as a deep-lying playmaker.
Skipp also averaged 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game that season at Norwich, comfortably outperforming Hackney’s average of 2.2 in that same defensive metric last term.
While Skipp does not possess Hackney’s tendency to surge forward with the ball, his ability to control tempo and screen the defence makes him a credible fit for either club’s needs.
Now 25 years old, Skipp has already accumulated 180 appearances across the top two tiers of English football, bringing considerable experience despite his relative youth.
Whether it is Hellberg at Middlesbrough or Paul Heckingbottom at Preston who wins the race for his signature, Skipp has the profile to rediscover his best form with the right manager around him.
Both clubs will be eager to resolve their midfield situations quickly, with the Championship season fast approaching and rivals already strengthening their own squads for the new campaign.