"No-brainer" - Ryan Giles transfer claim made as Middlesbrough circle | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough are reportedly interested in rekindling their interest in Luton Town left-back Ryan Giles this summer, per The Northern Echo.

Boro are looking to take advantage of a somewhat confusing situation regarding Giles' future, as we await clarity on whether his loan move to Hull City last season is required to become a permanent one this summer.

But should Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick bring the popular wide player back to Teesside this summer? Football League World investigates the implications of a potential deal for Boro.

Middlesbrough re-signing Giles 'a no-brainer'

Speaking to Football League World, our Middlesbrough fan pundit Phil Spencer believes that bringing Giles back to the Riverside Stadium this summer would be an excellent deal for the club.

Phil said: "Signing Ryan Giles is an absolute no-brainer for Middlesbrough, if the opportunity does arise this summer.

"Obviously, he'd spent a season on loan with the club during the 2022/23 season, and he was absolutely brilliant for Michael Carrick's team. He contributed 12 assists over the course of the campaign, offered a real outlet on the left flank, and was really the main source of width within our team in an attacking sense.

"Losing him last summer was a big miss, he went back to Wolves and then ended up going to Luton and then to Hull, and we did sign Lukas Engel and Alex Bangura as replacements.

"Engel has done relatively well over the course of the campaign, it took him a little while to settle in. Bangura, we've seen flashes of what he's capable of, but he did suffer a number of injuries which kind of stopped him from really settling into the team, and making that spot his own.

"He is maybe a little bit more of an advanced option than Engel, and that's maybe something that will, as it stands at the moment, that we'll be looking to see more of next season, but I think in terms of Ryan Giles, he does offer something very different to both of those players.

"Engel, there's kind of a reluctance to really bomb forward and provide that width as almost like a left winger, something that Giles did so effortlessly and was a key part of Middlesbrough's success in getting to the play-offs that season.

"So, if the opportunity does arise for Giles to come back to Middlesbrough, I think it's one that fans would love to see, but I think Michael Carrick would like to see it as well. We did miss that width last season coming on from the other full-backs.

"Like I said before, Engel kind of struggled in that sense, and whilst Luke Ayling did kind of offer it from right-back in the second half of the season, I do think it was something that was kind of missing from Middlesbrough's side, and was the real key element, and something that was a massive loss to the side.

"So, I think as far as the club are concerned, Giles would be a brilliant addition to the team. He would offer that attacking outlet, and would mean they would have someone on the left who can get forward and act as like a left winger. Often our 'left winger', in inverted commas, kind of plays as more of an inside forward anyway."

Giles wouldn't cost lots of money

It is understood that Hull City are required to make Giles' temporary move from Luton Town a permanent one this summer, for a fee of £4m.

The Northern Echo report that any deal Boro would make for Giles would preferably be an initial loan move, with the view to it becoming a permanent one later, but the club wouldn't be interested in paying anything close to £4m.

Phil spoke to us about the sort of fee Middlesbrough could pay for Giles, saying: "In terms of the fee that I'd be willing to pay for someone like Ryan Giles, I think personally, it would be important for the club to spend a little bit of money on getting someone in.

"We've seen exactly what he's capable of, not just for Middlesbrough but as part of Michael Carrick's team, Carrick clearly knows how to get the best out of him, and so that's something that could be really handy for the club moving forward.

"The fee that's been talked about for him moving to Hull on a permanent basis is £4m, the reports are suggesting that we wouldn't be willing to pay anything near that.

"But I think anything for me in the region of £2-3m would be a good deal, for someone who you basically know what you're getting from them, and someone who is a clear contributor in terms of both the defensive side of the game, but also in terms of offering assists and a real outlet on the left flank from an attacking point of view."