Wolves' Ryan Giles is shining at Shrewsbury

Ryan Giles will be hoping to force his way into Nuno Espirito Santo’s Premier League plans after shining away from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Diogo Jota of Wolverhampton Wanderers scores a goal to make it 1-0 during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City at Molineux on March 2, 2019 in...

Wolverhampton Wanderers have a very exciting young winger on their hands.

He is direct, skilful, breathtakingly quick, boasts an impressive eye for goal and appears to carry the ball with superglue on his boots. No, we are not talking about Diogo Jota.

But there are a lot of similarities between Wolves’ mesmeric number 18 – a player who top scored in their Championship title winning season before netting against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United in the Premier League – and a 19-year-old who has made a huge impression on loan at Shrewsbury Town.

Telford-born teen Ryan Giles has a long way to go before he can stake a claim to take Jota’s place in Nuno Espirito Santo’s starting XI – and perhaps he never will.

But 2019/20 is shaping up to be a breakthrough season for a player who’s progress is being watched eagerly by his parent club.

The Telford Jota?

Giles had never played a single game at senior level two months ago but, since joining Sam Ricketts’s Shrewsbury, he’s already played ten first-team games, earned a maiden call up to the England U20s and even found the top corner with a long-range rocket against Portsmouth. It’s been a season of firsts.

“This is a real coup to get him to come here. That’s not putting anymore pressure on him,” former Wolves defender Ricketts told Shropshire Live, admitting that Shrewsbury beat a number of Championship clubs to Giles’ signature.

“He’s just a young player that has got really good potential so we’re obviously delighted to have him.”