The ball is in H's court

SO BELIEVES EDWARDS, AS HE SAYS BORO WILL BE IN A GOOD PLACE, NO MATTER WHAT HACKNEY DECIDES

- By CRAIG JOHNS

ROB Edwards described it as a win-win for Middlesbrough as Hayden Hackney ponders a potential transfer to Championship rivals Ipswich Town.

Boro accepted an offer worth around £20 million for the midfielder this week from Ipswich Town, whose finances are boosted this summer by the parachute payments they receive from the Premier League.

Both Boro and the player would have preferred a topflight move, but as yet, no offers from such clubs have been forthcoming.

That leaves Hackney with a dilemma. The Redcar-born star will have to choose between accepting the chance to move to an ambitious Ipswich side, or reject the move in favour of remaining at Boro, potentially in the hope that a Premier League club does come in later down the line.

From a Boro perspective, with some of their recruitment plans to strengthen their squad resting on whether or not Hackney does leave for such a considerable fee, the sooner his future is resolved one way or the other, the better.