Newcastle United are likely to be linked with a plethora of huge names this summer following their qualification for the Champions League.

However, Eddie Howe will perhaps be keen to stick with his preferred model of signing younger players and developing them at St James' Park, rather than bringing in established talents for big money.

One man who would fit that model is Middlesbrough midfielder, Hayden Hackney, with the 20-year-old linked with a move to St James' Park after a breakthrough campaign in the Championship.

Could Newcastle sign Hackney?

According to 90min, Hackney's performances in the second tier have attracted the interest of Premier League sides such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City in recent weeks.

Although the youngster signed a new long-term deal at the Riverside until 2026, Boro's failure to earn promotion through the playoffs suggests that the midfielder could well be tempted away by the prospect of top-flight football this summer.

While there is a lot of competition for Hackney's signature, Newcastle's geographical advantage as well as their recent Champions League qualification could just swing things in their favour, especially if he takes into account Howe's record with young players.

Would Hackney be a trademark Eddie Howe signing?

Even at Newcastle when he's had a big budget to spend, Howe's most expensive signings of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon are 23 and 22 respectively, while at Bournemouth he would cultivate a reputation of signing top young prospects from the Premier League and lower down the English pyramid.

The likes of Nathan Ake and Dominic Solanke prospered on the south coast under Howe having joined from Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, while the likes of Tyrone Mings, Jack Stacey and Lewis Cook were signed as young prospects from teams outside the Premier League.

Therefore, the English manager is clearly not afraid to target youngsters who have made a name for themselves in the lower divisions and after making 36 appearances for Michael Carrick's side in the Championship this season, Hackney could be trusted to make the step-up.

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The Scotland U21 international notched three goals and four assists in those outings, earning a solid 6.80 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which is extremely impressive given he was on loan at Scunthorpe United last season as they finished bottom of League Two.

After penning a new deal at the Riverside on £4k-per-week, Hackney earned the praise of his manager, for whom he was a mainstay after he took over from Chris Wilder early in the campaign.

Carrick said: "Hayden has been terrific since I came and the couple of games before that he played really well. That's kind of how it works, you get rewarded for your good work. He fully deserves it. He's been a credit to himself and his family with the way he's handled it.

"He's just stepped in. He's down to earth, he hasn't got carried away and kept doing the same things."

If PIF want to properly back Howe in the summer transfer window then they should perhaps steer clear of the big names and instead continue the philosophy of signing younger players such as Hackney for the future.