Burnley have submitted a loan offer for Hull City defender Ryan Giles, but the Premier League club have not yet made a decision over whether to sanction his departure.
Giles was handed the Man of the Match award for his display in the 2-0 win over Manchester United last weekend, having become an essential part of Sergej Jakirovic’s squad in the past 12 months.
Burnley, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, want to sign the 26-year-old on an initial loan with an option to buy next summer, though a deal is not guaranteed, and Giles is set to be in the squad to face Coventry City on Saturday.
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During the summer, Giles was one of the players City had earmarked for potential departure following promotion to the Premier League, but the former Luton Town full-back has impressed throughout pre-season, and grasped his chance on the opening day against United.
Giles’ City deal runs out next summer, though the club do have a 12-month option after paying £4m to sign him permanently from Luton Town in June 2024 after an initial loan spell.
City have options on the left side following the summer arrivals of Matt Targett and Elliot Stroud, but any possible departure for Giles would be disappointing for the club’s supporters, who have grown increasingly fond of him over the past year.
Speaking ahead of Burnley’s game at Norwich this weekend, boss Nicky Hayen commented on the interest in Giles, but stopped short of mentioning the City star by name.
“We are trying to strengthen up the squad also with senior players, players who already know first of all maybe the league but also have the quality to improve our squad,” he said. “This is the most important, that we have a really good balance between experienced players and young talents. That’s the case normally if you are in conversation with a player, so we hope that we can make some deals before Tuesday.”
In order to free up space in their 25-man squad before Tuesday night’s 11pm deadline, a host of players could be moved on, with interest in Kieran Dowell, Oscar Zambrano and Cody Drameh, as well as Giles. Drameh, at this stage, is unlikely to leave despite having as many as six clubs chasing his signature. Abdus Omur and David Akintola are also set to be excluded from the 25-man squad and are therefore seeking moves elsewhere.
The Tigers have lodged a second, higher bid for Sorba Thomas, which is expected to be rebuffed again by Stoke City, while they do have an interest in Lyon’s 21-year-old Belgian winger Malick Fofana, though sources have told Hull Live they view that deal as unlikely. Lyon, who are reeling from missing out on the Champions League group stages to Fenerbahce, could be set to lose a flurry of players to bridge the financial gap, and are thought to want north of £30m.
There’s no truth to suggestions that former Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill could be on his way to the MKM Stadium. Brownhill currently plays in Saudi Arabia with Al Shabab and has been linked with a summer move back to England. City have held previous interest in the 30-year-old, but that was 12 months ago.
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