Edwards insists the ball is in Giles' court as Hatters receive 'interesting offer' for record signing

Luton boss Rob Edwards has stated the ball is in the court of wingback Ryan Giles over an anticipated move away from Kenilworth Road during the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old has struggled for game time since becoming the club’s record signing in the summer, joining for a fee believed to be around £5m. Starting just two Premier League matches since the beginning of September, the ex-England U20 international has a mere 250 minutes of top flight football in the last four months, while he was also overlooked for Jordan Clark to start the 1-1 draw with Burnley last month, despite Edwards declaring recently his best position was in the left wing berth.

Giles only got a half during both FA Cup ties against League One Bolton Wanderers earlier this month too, leading to a number of clubs being linked with a move for the former Wolves, Middlesbrough and Coventry winger. It appears Championship side Hull City is his most likely destination, the Tigers reportedly looking to bring him in on loan, agreeing a deal that includes an obligation to buy in the summer as well. Asked about the future of Giles, the Luton chief said: “We’ve had an interesting offer from a club, the ball is in the player’s court at the moment as well, so I don't want to go into it too much.”

When pushed on whether he wanted Giles to remain in Bedfordshire and fight for his place once the window has closed, Edwards continued: “There’s obviously a human being to think about too in this situation. I’ve got to do what’s right for the football club and there’s always a person involved in a situation like this, so it can be quite delicate, but I’m confident that between us all we’ll make the right decision. The position that we’re in, we want people to want to be here and really fight for us as well. I’ve got a really good relationship with Gileo which goes back quite a long way and I think it’s right that we listen to his side of it. We can make a real mature decision between us all and we’ll get to that point.”

Edwards also reiterated that he wants to keep the majority of the group that got Luton to the highest tier in English football together if he can, as discussing if there could be any more departures before the deadline passes on Thursday, he added: “Not unless I want it to happen and I’m really clear on this. We need to make sure the core of the group really stays together and stays strong. That’s been really important to me from the start of this window, so there may be one or two bits, but not much at all.”