Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has spoken out on the possibility of Ryan Giles joining Middlesbrough this summer.
Ryan Giles joined Middlesbrough on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Boro went on to finish fourth in the Championship in that campaign, losing out to Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals.
Giles enjoyed a prolific campaign at the Riverside and earned himself a permanent move to Luton Town that summer.
Things did not work out for Giles with the then-Premier League outfit, however.
He made just 11 league appearances for the Hatters before he was loaned to Hull City for the second half of 2023/24.
Hull then signed Giles on a permanent basis last month, seemingly ending Boro’s chances of a deal.
But the Teessiders were given a glimmer of hope in their pursuit of the left-back before it was claimed Middlesbrough were preparing to make a bid for Giles.
The latest update, meanwhile, stated that the Englishman is expected to make a permanent move to Middlesbrough in the near future.
Hull City owner open to letting Ryan Giles join Middlesbrough
Now, Middlesbrough have been further boosted in their pursuit of Giles following an update from Hull City owner, Acun Ilicali.
Hull being open to selling Giles after signing him last month may seem odd, but the Yorkshire outfit had to make his loan permanent due to an obligation inserted into the initial deal.
Now, despite Giles having previously shone in the Championship, Ilicali has indicated he is open to letting the full-back join Boro this summer.
When asked if he was willing to sell Giles to Middlesbrough, Ilicali made his stance clear, as per Teesside Live.
He said: “About Giles, if he wants to go to Middlesbrough, we will let him go. For me, players’ happiness is the most important thing.
“As you saw last year, so many big names came to us in the Championship, like Fabio Carvalho and Tyler Morton from the big clubs, so we will bring in new boys. I’m sure we will be in a good place with my team.”
Middlesbrough may need to sell left-back if Giles signs
Having Giles back at the Riverside would be a major boost for Middlesbrough in their bid for promotion.
However, it may leave Carrick with a big decision to make when it comes to his current left-back options.
After Giles’ initial departure from the club, Lukas Engel and Alex Bangura were brought in as replacements.
The latter’s campaign was hampered by injury, seeing him score two goals and assist one in 14 league games.
As for Engel, he was Boro’s primary left-sided defender last season, scoring two and assisting four in 35 Championship matches.
However, with Giles expected to be a regular starter if he returns, one of Engel or Bangura will likely need to be moved on.
There is little point having three senior left-backs and even if Boro suffer an injury crisis as they did in 2023/24, Rav van den Berg can fill in on the left of a back-four if needed.