Wolves youngster Ryan Giles has said Bruno Lage took a liking to him whilst he was back at the club in January.
The wing-back returned to Compton Park after spending the first half of the season on loan at Cardiff City.
Giles did really well there, notching nine assists. But he was recalled early in January by Wolves in order to provide a bit of cover.
In the end, he didn’t actually play any minutes for the first-team. He did make the bench against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, Southampton and Brentford. But Lage held off actually using the 22-year-old.
Now, Giles has gone back to the Championship, this time with Blackburn Rovers.
Tony Mowbray’s side are flying high at the moment. Currently they are second in the table and fighting for promotion back to the Premier League.
Giles will be hopeful of getting as many minutes as possible at Ewood Park.
He has certainly been given something to work towards, with the player stating that Lage liked what he saw from him during his few weeks back at the club.
He said (via Lancashire Telegraph): “I knew it (a recall) could be a possibility and when it happened you have to accept it, go back and try and fight your way into the squad.
“That’s the mindset I had going back to Wolves, trained every day. The manager did take a liking to me which was great from my point of view, leaving it so late in the end it was best that I finish the second half of the season out on loan.”
He wants him to fight for a first-team place ahead of 2022/23.
Ryan Giles will be buoyed by support from Wolves boss Bruno Lage
It must be very heartening for Giles to know Lage is a fan of him.
This will hopefully be the motivation for him to shine at Blackburn.
It sounds very much as though Lage wants Giles to give him a reason to include him in his first-team squad next season.
Now it’s on the youngster to rise to the challenge.
If he makes the most of this latest loan spell, he’ll surely have first-team involvement next season.
Lage has no qualms about using young players. Currently, Rayan Ait-Nouri is the number one left wing-back, and he is nearly two years younger than Giles.