HAYDEN Hackney has Premier League admirers but Middlesbrough have no intention of cashing in on the midfielder this summer.

The 20-year-old only signed a new deal with Boro in December after his brilliant breakthrough under Michael Carrick and is contracted until the summer of 2026.

His outstanding season in the Championship inevitably turned heads of top flight clubs but Boro have no interest in selling Hackney this summer, The Northern Echo understands.

The Redcar-born midfielder is a major part of Carrick's plans as Boro prepare for next term and aim to come back stronger from their play-off heartbreak.

Last summer Boro sold Djed Spence and Marcus Tavernier but Hackney's situation is different. Spence's exit was inevitable on the back of his Nottingham Forest loan, but Boro still held out for a deal they were pleased with. Tavernier, meanwhile, made it known that he wanted to leave when he learnt of interest from Bournemouth.

It's unclear at this stage whether any of Hackney's admirers will firm up their interest with a bid but Boro's transfer stance is clear.

Hackney will link up with Scotland's Under-21s later this month for a double header against Norway.

His superb season at Boro was made all the more remarkable by the fact he started the campaign on the fringes of the first team squad and not featuring in Chris Wilder's plans.

But after being handed his first team chance during Leo Percovich's caretaker stint, Hackney featured in all but one of Carrick's Championship games in charge - the only one he missed being the defeat at Luton late in the season when the head coach rested a couple of key players.

Carrick said of Hackney earlier this season: "He doesn’t say a lot, he goes about his performances without any fuss, he just does what he’s good at and that’s what I love to see.

"He has huge belief and confidence but no arrogance or that kind of in-your-face attitude. He just does what he does and he’s coming on and adding to his game all of the time. I like to see that."

While Hackney won't be going anywhere this summer, one academy graduate who has left Boro is striker Stephen Walker.

The 22-year-old former England youth international played seven league games for his hometown club during Jonathan Woodgate's season in charge before loan stints with MK Dons, Crewe and Tranmere.

His contract with Boro was due to expire this summer but he left the club by mutual consent earlier in the season.

Boro have today announced that Nathan Simpson is the latest academy youngster to commit his future to the club, with the 19-year-old signing a new two-year contract with the option of a third year.

Simpson can play on the right side of defence and midfield and played nine times for the Under-21s last season.

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Meanwhile, former Boro midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce has signed a one-year contract extension with St Mirren after joining the Scottish Premiership club on a short term deal in March.

He played three times, making his first start in the weekend defeat to Rangers.

Boss Stephen Robinson said: "Caolan was never going to come into the first team fold straight away because he hadn’t played for a long time.

"What we could see three months ago, he is now starting to achieve. Sometimes, that gamble is worthwhile.

"He's different from what we have. He will find passes and put people through on goal as he gets fitter and stronger. We believe that come August/September, he has a real chance of starting games for us and pushing on. There's so much more to come from him."