CRYSTAL PALACE are eyeing Middlesbrough’s £15million-rated star Hayden Hackney.
And Palace could be eyeing a £27m double swoop on the Riverside.
That is after also running the rule over his Dutch team-mate Rav van den Berg at the Under-21 European Championship.
Midfielder Hackney, 23, was part of England’s triumphant Under-21 squad.
Premier League clubs, including Tottenham, have been watching his displays for his hometown team for over a year.
Stuttgart are keen and Porto had a £9m bid rejected for him on January’s deadline day.
Hackney, who came through Middlesbrough‘s academy, has already proved he can cut the mustard against the big boys in his standout displays against both Chelsea and Aston Villa in the cups last season.
New Boro boss Rob Edwards would love to keep their prized asset.
But Edwards knows any cash generated from a big sale would help him fund his own transfer splurge.
He first caught the eye of Palace’s former sporting director Dougie Freedman.
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And SunSport has learned that he has remained on the Eagles’ radar despite the Scot no longer being at Selhurst Park.
The South London club’s scouts have been spotted at several matches throughout the Under-21 Euros, where Hackney featured four times for England in the run-up to the final.
Meanwhile, we revealed this week that Palace’s talent spotters had also been monitoring £12m-rated Van den Berg out in Slovakia.
