After the last 18 months since leaving Middlesbrough, Ryan Giles probably knows better than anyone that nothing is guaranteed in football.

It’s for that exact reason that, despite his clear delight and excitement to be back at Boro - on loan from Hull City until the end of the season - he’s reluctant to think too much about beyond this season and a potential permanent move.

It was a case of third time lucky for Boro and Giles to reunite, after two previous attempts to bring him back to the Riverside broke down. It followed an excellent season on loan in 2022-23, when he registered 12 assists as Michael Carrick's side made the play-offs.

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Now back on loan, asked if he this time wants to make that a permanent switch, Giles said: “It's hard to say. I want to stay respectful to Hull, that's important. What will be will be. Negotiations can sometimes sway the way you don't want, that's just part of football. We'll see what happens.

“At the end of the day, I have to do well here as well. If I don't perform, the club might not want to do it. I just have to control what I can control and let's see what happens in the summer. That's the best way to go about it.”

Giles would of course love that permanent switch at the end of the season. There's understandable desire to be respectful to Hull, but his delight at once again wearing Boro red is written all over his face. Equally, he knows these things aren’t always in his control. After his brilliant season at Boro, he’s had 18 tough months since.

Boro made attempts to re-sign him from Wolves as soon as his loan came to an end. Having pipped Boro to promotion via the play-offs, Luton Town entered the race and were offering Wolves more than Boro could compete with. Giles could have rejected the move, but ultimately, it was a chance to realise a dream at a time his confidence couldn’t be any higher.

“It feels like a long time ago now,” he says of that decision in the summer of 2023. “That was a tough one. I think only because it was so fresh. I'd just left, had the talks, I knew Boro were going to try and bring me back. It was tough. It wasn't just myself in the negotiations, I was at Wolves back then and they made it clear with their financial situation that they wanted as much as they could get for me basically.

“Obviously there was that back and forth going on. From a personal perspective, the opportunity to go and play in the Premier League was huge and something I always wanted to do. If you ask anybody I think they'd say the same thing. But I had that attachment here and what the gaffer had done for me. It was such a tough decision, but it sort of came out of my hands a little bit with Wolves. They had to do what was right for them. It played out that way.

“It was disappointing but also a chance for me to step up to the Premier League. I knew it would be tough but I just didn't know if I'd ever get that opportunity again. It was one of those things."

Giles would only last six months at Kenilworth Road. He quickly lost his place in Rob Edwards’ side and was loaned to Hull City last January in a loan that included an obligation for the Tigers to buy last summer. Despite that, the 24-year-old insists there are no regrets.

“I don't think so,” he said. “I knew it would be tough. Luton were going up and the odds were against them. I knew what I was going into. It was just more the opportunity from an individual perspective to go and give it a go and think whatever happens in the future, I've experienced the Premier League. That was always something I wanted to do anyway.

“I was in constant dialogue with the gaffer as well to be fair, we kept in touch and that was nice. I wouldn't say there's regret, everything happens for a reason. It was disappointing not to come back but everything happens for a reason and I'm back here now, so happy days.”

Boro will be hoping Giles’ return proves better late than never. His switch to Hull ultimately didn’t work out either and Boro attempted to make the most of their financial situation to land him last summer. Negotiations got quite far down the line back then before breaking down. Still unable to make as big an impact at the MKM as he might have liked though, Boro finally secured the reunion when new Tigers boss Ruben Selles made clear he was free to leave this month.

Giles reflected: “I was aware of it from a few weeks back. I've been aware of it for a while. I obviously wasn't holding my breath because of what's happened before. I was just getting on with it and what will be will be, was my attitude. But when I knew it was close, the excitement started building.

"It's something I've always been open to, of course. To be here now is obviously brilliant and it's a good opportunity for me to hopefully kick on again, for sure. Part of being a professional footballer, you have to just get on with things. I knew there was interest there, we'd spoken and the clubs had spoken. I just sort of got on with my job.

“I have an emotional attachment with Boro because last time I was here it was a good year. But as a professional I was respectful to being with Hull as well and respected their wishes. It wasn't a case of me being 'yeah, I want to go', it was more just what will be will be.”

And so it is that Giles is finally back at Boro. That brilliant season he previously enjoyed on Teesside ended in disappointment, ultimately. Defeat to Coventry City in the play-off semi-final meant Boro missed out on promotion. It all only adds to the emotional attachment Giles feels to Boro, the excitement for his return now, and also, the feeling of unfinished business, as he made his ambitions this time clear.

“It was just a consistent feeling here,” he said. “In the playing time, in the manager and the belief he showed in me, the fans, making the play-offs. It might sound cliche, but then losing in the play-offs like we did, it’s hard to explain but there was just this real emotional attachment that I felt.

“Even going away at the end of the season, the reaction from fans at that time as the club were then trying to sign me, it just felt like I’d built something special. I love that about the fans - even the reception I got when I came on at the Riverside. That's part of football.

“They've been brilliant, honestly. They've always been in my socials. It's been brilliant. Now I want to put smiles on their faces and do the best I can for the club. I feel like I've got a bit of unfinished business really, if you like. I obviously can't do it on my own, but if I can come in and add something to what has been a successful start to the season…

“The team are in a brilliant position. It's a real opportunity to try and achieve something. It adds to the excitement. I look at the squad now and the one we had then, I honestly believe we’re in a very good place. There are some really top players here. I’ve come in to hopefully add something to the team and hopefully we can kick on and repeat what we did last time, while obviously going one better this time. That’s ultimately the aim.”