Wolves youngster Ryan Giles is wanted by Middlesbrough, according to a report from Football Insider.
The lowdown: Top talent
Part of the academy system at Molineux, the 22-year-old has spent time on loan at Shrewsbury, Coventry, Rotherham, Cardiff City and most recently Blackburn Rovers.
Having impressed for Wolves’ under-23 and under-18 sides, he made his only first-team outing for the Old Gold against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup fourth round in 2019, playing 72 minutes in a 2-2 draw.
Still under contract at Molineux until 2025 (Transfermarkt), the England youth international’s future may still lie away from the club…
The latest: Giles ‘in talks’ with Middlesbrough
As per Football Insider, Championship outfit Middlesbrough are now ‘in talks’ to sign Giles this summer.
It’s claimed that a ‘Boro source’ has informed the outlet that manager Chris Wilder has ‘targeted’ the former England under-20 starlet in the left wing-back role next season.
The report makes no mention of a potential fee for the youngster, who was hailed for an ‘outstanding’ pre-season in 2018 by Wolves’ then-Director of Football Kevin Thelwell, whilst also being earmarked for a senior role by the former Molineux chief.
The verdict: Cash in
Giles provided an impressive 10 assists in 32 appearances across spells at Cardiff and Blackburn in the Championship last season, operating across an abundance of positions including centre-forward, right winger, central midfielder and in a more natural left-wing role.
He seems a prodigious talent with the potential to fill numerous roles in the Molineux squad, but having failed to make the grade in the Premier League under Nuno Espirito Santo, the versatile 22-year-old seems unlikely to break into Bruno Lage’s plans next season. Therefore, a move could be the best option for all parties.
Focusing on Giles’ predominant role as a left winger, Lage already has Pedro Neto, Chiquinho and Rayan Ait-Nouri at his disposal to operate in the position, and surpassing any of those three would be a difficult task for the Telford-born youngster in the near future.
As such, the Wolves hierarchy must ensure that they extract every possible penny when it comes to raking in a transfer fee for the £2.7m-valued Giles.
In other news, one Wolves player is close to signing a new deal. Find out who it is here
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