Whilst the 49ers recruited incredibly for Leeds United last summer, they did not manage to land all their targets.

Harry Wilson and Igor Paixao are amongst the players that the Whites missed out on. But ultimately, it did not matter as they comfortably avoided the drop.

Leeds will know they are not guaranteed to land every player they have shown an interest in. And, the pain of missing out on Paixao in particular was softened after the fantastic campaign that Noah Okafor enjoyed in West Yorkshire.

Leeds United look set to miss out on Middlesbrough ace Hayden Hackney – Everton front-runners for midfielder

However, the latest reports from The Athletic’s David Ornstein suggest that Leeds could be set to miss out on another player they have previously shown ‘interest’ in.

Hayden Hackney, 23, is fresh off the back of an exceptional season in the Championship with Middlesbrough. However it ended heartbreakingly as they fell to a narrow defeat in the play-off final against Hull City.

Despite missing out on promotion with Middlesbrough, Hackney looks set to play in the top flight next season regardless. Ornstein is reporting that Everton are currently leading the race to sign the midfielder.

The player’s preference is to move to Merseyside with Everton. But, Tottenham and Crystal Palace are also said to be amongst the top contenders to sign Hackney.

Ornstein confirms that Hackney wants to join Everton. Not only that, but he fails to list Leeds amongst the clubs who are likely to sign him. As a result, it effectively puts an end to the idea that we could see the Englishman plying his trade at Elland Road next season.

This is arguably a major blow for Daniel Farke if he did in fact want to sign Hackney. The German manager will now seemingly having to turn his attention to other targets.

Midfield reinforcements should not be a priority for Leeds United this summer

Barring any sales to the midfielders we already have at the club, signing another player who can play in the centre of the park should not be our priority this summer.

Whilst signing Hackney would have been nice, Farke has far more gaping holes in his squad that need to be addressed.

For me, adding more quality in the final third should be our main focus this summer, particularly in wide areas. Willy Gnonto is evidently not fancied by Farke. Elsewhere Dan James and Brenden Aaronson are simply players we must improve upon quickly if we want to establish ourselves as a Premier League club.

After that, we need more defensive cover at left-wing back. Then, we could do with a left-sided centre back, on top of a new goalkeeper. Or at least, a backup shot stopper if we are going to persist with Karl Darlow.

After that, if any funds are still available, which is unlikely unless we make multiple notable sales, then another midfielder would be a cherry on top of the cake when it comes to assembling Farke’s squad for next season.

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