
Crystal Palace line up £27million double raid on Middlesbrough including move for England U21 hero
And Palace could be eyeing a £27m double swoop on the Riverside.
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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.
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.
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The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Assistant coach Jeetan Patel admits 151 overs in field had taken toll on England
England were left nursing 'tired minds and tired bodies' after India left them with a mountain to climb on the second day at Edgbaston. Captain Shubman Gill ground down the hosts with a superb 269, occupying the crease for eight and a half hours as he guided his side to a formidable score of 587. That is the most England have conceded since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over the team three years ago and they were creaking at the end of 151 overs in the field. The strain showed as India picked off their top three in eight overs with the new ball, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope dismissed for ducks off successive deliveries from Akash Deep as they finished 510 adrift on 77 for three. 'Spending 151 overs in the dirt in any scenario is pretty tough. There's some tired minds and tired bodies,' said assistant coach Jeetan Patel. 'You put in that much effort and it's not just physical, it's mental as well. Credit to Shubman for the way he's batted over two days, it was a masterclass in how to bat on a good wicket. The guys threw everything at them, and rightly so, but they're very tired for their efforts. 'They'll get a good night's rest tonight.' Brydon Carse was down on pace and amid concerns that the toe problems that forced him to withdraw from the Champions Trophy earlier this year had resurfaced, with Patel hinting that he would now be rested for next week's third Test at Lord's. First, though, there are three hard days ahead. A draw would be the likeliest route to preserving England's 1-0 lead but that option is anathema to Stokes' side, who have upset cricketing logic on three different occasions to win after conceding over 500. Asked if England still felt they can turn things around, Patel said: 'One hundred per cent, I've said this many a time and (people) keep laughing at me. 'We will find another way of trying to get over the line. That's the beauty of the team we have, the players we have and the belief they have. There is lots of cricket to go on a fast-scoring ground and you never know what can happen.' England's commitment to the positive approach is understandable given they chased down a lofty target of 371 to win the series opener but India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had a sharp response. 'In cricket, in press conferences, you can talk whatever you want to talk,' he said. 'It's none of my business, but at the end of the day you have to go out and perform and take those 20 wickets. That's all that matters.'

Leader Live
11 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Shubman Gill shines and shatters records as India make England toil at Edgbaston
At tea on Thursday evening Gill was in his element on 265 not out, not just a career-best knock but also the highest ever score by an Indian batter on English soil and the most by an India captain. Having assumed the fabled number four slot once held by the great Sachin Tendulkar and most recently by fellow A-lister Virat Kohli, Gill removed any question marks about his ability to shoulder the burden of expectation. It's Tea on Day 2 of the 2nd Test! #TeamIndia power along to 564/7, with captain Shubman Gill marching to 2⃣6⃣5⃣ 👌 👌 Third session of the Day to begin 🔜 Updates ▶️ | @ShubmanGill — BCCI (@BCCI) July 3, 2025 It was a torrid day for Ben Stokes' men, put in to field by their skipper in attempt to recreate the pattern of last week's win at Headingley. By tea they had shipped 254 runs in return for two consolation wickets, Josh Tongue bouncing Ravindra Jadeja out for 89 just before lunch and part-time spinner Joe Root bowling Washington Sundar for 42 deep in the afternoon session. Both men played handy supporting roles to the exemplary Gill, who led stands of 203 and 144 in a princely performance. England have made a habit of pulling unlikely wins out of unpromising positions but their chances of changing the course of this Test already appear dim and distant with more than three full days to play. Gill started play with 114 already under his belt and was in no mood to give it away on a pitch that was playing straighter and truer by the moment. Ben Stokes took the new ball alongside Chris Woakes but neither man was able to summon any danger, an ominous warning about the run-fest that was about to unfold. Jadeja eased to his ninth fifty against England and Gill had soon surpassed the 147 he made in last week's series opener in Leeds. A steady trickle of boundaries gave the scoring rate a bump, Jadeja punching back-to-back fours off Stokes and Gill taking a liking to Brydon Carse after he entered the fray. With a wafer thin margin of error for the bowlers, Carse found himself driven hard when he strayed too full and pulled round the corner when he dug in short. England were keeping tabs on Jadeja's footwork, seemingly concerned about creating some additional rough for his own off-spin later in the game, but there was no formal intervention from the umpires. Their own spinner, Shoaib Bashir, was not finding much joy and found himself clattered for two sixes in an over as he experimented with changes in pace and a lesser spotted 'carrom ball'. Just when it seemed like England had nowhere to go, Tongue found just enough bounce to draw the error, Jadeja springing into evasive action and popping a catch to Jamie Smith. Sundar's nervy start against Tongue gave England false hope of wrapping the innings up and they soon realised he was in for a long stay. They became visibly weary in the middle session, which saw 145 added to the total and a handful of signs that they were losing grip. At one stage Root and Zak Crawley collided in an unsuccessful attempt to cut off one of Gill's 30 fours, part-timer Harry Brook served up five overs of inelegant medium-pace and a clearly fatigued Carse saw four byes skip through Smith's legs as he dragged one wearily down the leg side. Gill's 200 came in 311 balls and the data showed a false shot rating of just five per cent. His next 50 was the quickest of the lot, comprising just 37 balls. Root hit Sundar's off stump with a neat off-break but his stony-faced celebration told the story of the day.


BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ominous signs for England after toil
England's lack of penetration with the ball coupled with fitness concerns are an "ominous" sign, says former captain Michael Stokes' side toiled throughout the second day at Edgbaston as India piled up 587 before reducing the hosts to Carse struggled with a recurrence of his foot issues while Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes did not bowl after their first spells."Clearly there's a problem with Brydon Carse and we're two Test matches into a five-match series in England and then it's not too long after we've got five matches in Australia in the heat on those slabs, some of those drop-in pitches with a Kookaburra ball," Vaughan said."Their [England's] tactic after 30 overs pretty much is just to whack the ball into the pitch with a square-of-the-wicket field."They're going to need some wheelbarrows to get some of these bowlers off the park in Australia. It's so tough on the body." Carse was ruled out for three months earlier this year because of serious cuts and blisters on his toes – an issue that first emerged on tours of Pakistan and New Zealand before he remained on the field in Birmingham, he was seen hobbling at various times when fielding and in his bowling meanwhile, has returned to bowling this year following hamstring was seen stretching his groin on day one and, after a lengthy warm-up before play, opened the bowling on day two. He delivered four overs for 16 runs but did not return to the attack in the remaining 58 overs of India's innings. Similarly, Woakes did not feature after his four overs for 22 runs at the start of the Shoaib Bashir bowled 45 overs for 3-167, Josh Tongue struggled as he took 2-119 from 28 overs and even Harry Brook bowled five overs of his part-time seam in their absence."India have batted great and with great control but the way England bowled today was a slight concern," Vaughan said."There were a few things I saw in the field which made me think it was ominous going forward." The fitness issue is heightened by the fact there are only three days off before this Test and the third at Lord's next then England could be boosted by the return of Gus Atkinson, their leading wicket-taker in 2024 who bowled a long and pacey spell in the nets before this match as he recovers from a hamstring injury, while Jofra Archer looks on course to make a long-awaited return to Test cricket Overton has recovered from a broken finger and Essex seamer Sam Cook is available should England require or wish for further changes. 'We are not fussed what's said outside the group' India captain Shubman Gill capitalised on England's struggles and made 267 - the highest score by an India batter in the came despite Stokes winning the toss on day one and then continuing his preference to bowl first. India's score was the highest England have conceded since Stokes became coach Jeetan Patel insisted England can still win the match, again following the Stokes mantra of dismissing the prospect of playing for a draw, and said they would not reflect on the toss decision."I don't think you reflect on what's happened," the New Zealander said."Hindsight's hindsight. We decided to bowl and we'll stick by that. "On the first day it showed enough for us and we created a lot of opportunities and it didn't go our way. The day might've looked different yesterday and this morning if we got those decisions."People are going to look at any scorecard and make a decision on what they're going to think. I'm not really fussed and I don't think any of us are fussed about what's said outside of the group."