Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City both tried to re-sign Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ryan Giles before Championship rivals Middlesbrough sealed an agreement for his services, according to a report from the Northern Echo.

The 22-year-old impressed in the Championship last term, particularly with the Bluebirds where he managed to record nine assists in 21 appearances and played a key part in helping Steve Morison's side to remain afloat in the early stages of the campaign.

Although he didn't manage to have the same impact at Ewood Park during the second half of the season, unable to guide the Lancashire outfit to a top-six finish, he managed to put together a string of respectable performances when he was given a chance to impress.

 

 

Boro, however, announced the addition of the 22-year-old yesterday and though it's currently unclear where he will be played by Chris Wilder as an extremely versatile asset, the left wing-back area is in need of an addition following the departure of Neil Taylor.

Giles has plenty of experience playing in this role from his time with the Bluebirds and Rovers, though he could also be another midfield option for the Teesside outfit with his assists record.

They faced considerable competition to land him, with both Blackburn and Cardiff making moves to try and recruit the Englishman once more, even though the former haven't had a manager in place up until recently.

The Verdict:

For both sides, this would have been a good bit of business because they would have benefitted from his arrival if he had still been available.

Although Steve Morison's side have both Jamilu Collins and Joel Bagan as options on the left-hand side now, their central midfield area is in need of a rebuild and Giles could have been a useful player in an advanced midfield role.

His assists and the firepower provided by new strikers, another area Morison needs to focus on, would be a deadly combination and in their quest to record an improved finish from last term, his arrival could only have been a good thing.

And for Blackburn, he could potentially operate as a wing-back, in a central role or in an advanced wing position depending on the system Jon Dahl Tomasson opts to go with.

They are in desperate need of replacing the contributions of Joe Rothwell from midfield and considering how much of an impact he made at the Cardiff City Stadium, you would certainly back someone like Giles to go on and fill that void.

For Boro though, this arrival is a real coup.