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Hayden Hackney's struggle for Everton minutes explained by club's ex-scout
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- Hayden Hackney's struggle for Everton minutes explained by club's ex-scout
Hayden Hackney must continue to adapt to the Premier League before he is handed consistent minutes for Everton.
That is the opinion of former senior Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
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Fans were left frustrated when the 24-year-old featured for just a minute in Monday's 1-0 win over Newcastle United, despite having enjoyed such an impressive performance on Thursday.
Hackney scored and assisted as Everton knocked Newcastle out of the Carabao Cup last week, yet he was forced to return to the bench in place of Harrison Armstrong.
The Toffees signed the midfielder for £24million from Middlesbrough in the summer transfer window after he had won the Championship's player of the season award.
The Englishman is one of several players this summer who have been forced to wait in the wings for opportunities as David Moyes continues to select his favourites.
'I was very impressed' by Hayden Hackney
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Hackney was often Middlesbrough's captain and a key cog in their system under Kim Hellberg.
Only injury stopped him from making more than 41 appearances across all competitions last season, and he made 44 in the campaign before.
To go from that to occasional minutes at Everton has likely been a significant adaptation for Hackney.
"He's come from a Championship side and he did well in the Championship, but it's a big step up," King told Football Insider.
"As people would tell you, for clubs, Championship to Premier League is a big step up and it's no different for players.
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"He's obviously just joined a football club and he's slowly making his way in. I was very impressed [last week]. It was 65 minutes he played for and I was very impressed with him.
"He made some good runs. He was a good support to [James] Garner. He looked as though he wanted to win the ball, which allowed Garner a little bit more freedom."
Matthias Jaissle's plan tossed and David Moyes anger: Five things you may have missed in Newcastle vs Everton David Moyes wants more from Hackney
Thursday's game felt like a breakthrough for Hackney, who has started just three games this season.
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But he quickly found himself back on the bench, and Moyes made his feelings clear.
"I think he's still learning, like many of the boys I've taken from the Championship. I think he's still got a lot more to do," the Scot said.
"I thought he had some good moments, but he had some moments where I wanted a bit more from him. Obviously getting the goal, and bits of his play, were great, but there are other bits of it that I want him to improve on."
