Tottenham Hotspur have endured a mixed campaign so far as their form has been up and down with various injury and suspension issues to deal with throughout the season so far.
Ange Postecoglou was brought in from Scottish giants Celtic last summer and enjoyed a terrific start to life in England with eight wins and two draws from his first ten Premier League matches.
However, they then lost the likes of Micky van de Ven and James Maddison to injury and failed to win any of their next five league matches – including four losses and one draw.
Since then, Spurs have won four of their last five Premier League games and appear to be back on the right track ahead of the second half of the campaign.
The January transfer window opened at the start of last week and it has provided Postecoglou with an opportunity to add further depth and quality to his squad.
Spurs transfer news – Hayden Hackney
Tottenham have already been busy in the market this month and have now been linked with interest in Middlesbrough central midfielder Hayden Hackney.
The Standard claim that Spurs are lining up a move to land the Championship midfielder, who is also being eyed by other Premier League sides, as they prepare to join the race for his services.
Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United are all said to be interested in a deal to sign the impressive young dynamo following his superb form under Michael Carrick in the second tier.
The report adds that Boro are braced for offers for his services in the summer and have told teams that it will take a 'sensational' offer to convince them to part ways with him this month.
However, The Standard do not mention what sort of fee would constitute as sensational, which means that it remains to be seen whether or not a move is realistic for Spurs this month.
The outlet goes on to mention that Tottenham are particularly keen on a deal for the England U21 international as another homegrown player would help them to meet the quota for UEFA competitions, should they secure a place in the Champions League, Europa League, or Europa Conference League.
Spurs got a glimpse of his quality against Premier League opposition when he faced Chelsea in the first-leg of the League Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.
Hackney, as you can watch in the video above, scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory for Middlesbrough, whilst he also created one chance and made two tackles throughout the 90 minutes.
His performance showed that he does have the quality to make an impact against the top-flight sides, which is why Spurs should take a gamble on him this month.
He is a progressive central midfielder who could help Postecoglou to unlock the best of Timo Werner, who recently joined on loan from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Timo Werner's goal record
The Germany international is set to be at Tottenham until the end of the current campaign and they have an option to make it permanent for €17m (£14.6m).
Spurs will be hoping to get him back to his best after a difficult first half of the season in his home country, which ended with two goals and zero assists in 14 appearances in all competitions.
Last season, Werner plundered a respectable 16 goals and six assists in 40 matches for Leipzig – including nine goals and four assists in 29 Bundesliga outings.
His second spell at Leipzig came after a two-year stint in England with Chelsea. The German forward produced 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 games and helped the Blues to win the Champions League in 2021.
Werner's best goalscoring form, however, came during the 2019/20 campaign for Leipzig, which led to his transfer to England in the summer of 2020.
Centre-forward
292
133
Left winger
74
16
Right winger
25
Seven
Second striker
22
13
The now-27-year-old marksman racked up a staggering 34 goals and 13 assists in 45 games in all competitions – including 28 goals in 34 Bundesliga matches.
It is now up to Spurs and Postecoglou to unlock Werner's top form between now and the end of the season, which the signing of Hackney could help with.
The statistics that show why Spurs should sign Hackney
The Boro star is all-round central midfielder who can make an impact in and out of possession but his qualities on the ball are why he could help the German striker.
Hackney, firstly, is a solid contributor off the ball. He has made 2.2 tackles and interceptions combined and 7.7 ball recoveries per match across 16 Championship outings this season.
Meanwhile, Pape Matar Sarr (5.1) and Yves Bissouma (4.8) have not retrieved possession as frequently each game in the Premier League as the English dynamo.
This suggests that the potential is there for the Boro ace to create more opportunities for Spurs to attack by recovering the ball more often than Postecoglou's current options, if he can translate his form to the top-flight.
His presence in the middle of the park could, therefore, provide the team with more chances to counter and make the most of Werner's impressive pace and movement in transition.
Hackney, who was described as a "sensational" young midfielder by journalist Graeme Bailey on the Talking Transfers podcast, also has the progressive passing to consistently find Werner, and other attackers, in dangerous positions.
Shot-creating actions (3.50)
Top 18%
Progressive passes (8.19)
Top 1%
Progressive carries (2.25)
Top 19%
Passes attempted (77.37)
Top 5%
As you can see in the table above, the 21-year-old starlet is an exceptional passer who constantly looks to progress play through passes or carries to push his team into advanced positions in the opposition third.
Bissouma, as a point of reference, has averaged 6.56 progressive passes and 2.31 shot-creating actions from 78.74 attempted passes in the Premier League this season.
This suggests that, if Postecoglou can help Hackney to translate his current performances over to the top-flight, the 5 foot 10 dynamo could enhance the quality of Tottenham's build-up play.
This would, in turn, lead to more opportunities for Werner to use his pace and direct play to make things happen at the top end of the pitch, which is why this potential signing could help to unlock the German whiz.
