Ryan Giles, the former England youth international, has been a hit on loan at Cardiff City this term. It is the fourth club he has been loaned out to in his career to date, having previously had stints at AFC Telford United, Shrewsbury Town, Coventry City, and Rotherham United. The Telford-born, 21-year-old is only enhancing the reputation he built for himself during stints at Coventry City and Rotherham United. Giles has been the star performer in a Cardiff side who have gone from promotion contenders to relegation candidates in the EFL Championship in the blink of an eye. Giles has been one of the promising talents for Cardiff City so far this season. The young winger has provided a total of seven assists in the 14 games he has played.
Let’s take a look at what the stats have to say about his performance so far:
Giles has played in several different positions this season as he started the season playing on the right flank and has now shifted to the left flank as a wing-back in his recent outings. He is being considered as one of the best wide players in the Championship and has played well in most of the positions he has been put in. The above visual indicates that Giles has featured on both flanks for Cardiff.
Giles has a very high number of passes and crosses into the final third, as seen in the visual. The young midfielder has an xA of 0.38 per 90 minutes and lies in the 98th percentile for the same. Giles might not have the best passing accuracy in the league, but the role he has for his team requires him to put in more crosses into the penalty area with a target man inside the box. Giles has attempted the most number of crosses per 90 minutes in the league.
He has the highest number of successful crosses in the league, and averages 3.02 successful crosses per 90 minutes. His crosses have been the biggest threat to the opposition’s defenses. Cardiff have scored a lot of goals from these crosses. Giles is a powerful player and has Premier League quality. He can cross the ball well on the run, and he can put it into threatening positions in the opposition’s penalty area.
Giles’ pass map indicates he has been involved in playing from both flanks for Cardiff City, and is a threat from both. He has put in several crosses into the penalty area, most of them having a very high xT. All these crosses were put in from areas near the six-yard box, making it easier for the striker to head into the goal. When available, his link-up with Kieffer Moore has been encouraging to watch.
While Giles has not been able to get his name on the scoresheet for Cardiff so far in the league, he still has a decent number of shots on goal. Most of these shots are from the left side of the pitch, as he has played more on the left flank. He also attempted a few shots from the other side of the pitch when he played on the right flank.
Now that Giles has been playing as a left wing-back for his side in the past couple of games, he has been involved in the defensive actions that his team have attempted. Giles will always have an attacker’s instinct and will try and move forward whenever possible, but he has also contributed in his half by completing his defensive duties.
Giles has been most effective for Cardiff from the left flank, as he is a left-footed player, and is easy for him to put in great crosses while on the run. His parent club, Wolves, is thrilled with the way Giles has adapted to life at Cardiff City, establishing himself as one of the Championship’s most dangerous wide players, even as the Bluebirds have now dropped down the second-tier table. While the assists have dried up recently, the touchline-treading wide man continues to impress, standing head and shoulders above some of his underperforming teammates.
