Does Steve Evans want to keep Mallik Wilks? The Rotherham United boss gives the answer
LOANEE Mallik Wilks will make a full switch to Rotherham United in the summer if manager Steve Evans gets his way.
The attacker is coming towards the end of his season-long stay after moving from parent club Sheffield Wednesday on a temporary deal.
He has been one of the most dangerous players for the Millers in their League One campaign and Evans is keen to see the 26-year-old sign a permanent deal and remain at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
“We love working with Mallik,” Evans said. “I think he loves working with us. He's a gifted boy who we'd like to work with going forward. Absolutely, we'll have a conversation with him.”
Wilks joined Wednesday from Hull City in 2022. The length of his contract with the Championship side has never been officially revealed but it is likely that it is a three-year deal and, therefore, due to expire.
The former Leeds United youngster has scored seven times in 36 outings and has, at times, wreaked havoc in opposition defences with his pace and trickery either out wide or down the middle.
Wednesday allowed him to make the short trip across the M1 after two disappointing seasons for him in S6 that saw him make only 13 starts and 29 substitute appearances as the Owls won promotion from the League One and then consolidated their place in the second tier.
His form for Rotherham has been up and down and Evans said: “Do we need more consistency and end product from him? One million per cent we do. Does he know we need that? Yes, he does.
“Was his pre-season where we needed it to be? No. He didn't have a pre-season. He used to sit with the under-23s and play five-a-sides at Sheffield Wednesday. We knew that when we took him on.”
Wednesday are not thought to have an extension option on Wilks, so it would appear that he is about to become a free agent in the summer.
The player's wage demands might be an issue for the Millers, but that consideration is out of Evans' range of responsibility and would be a matter for Rotherham chairman Tony Stewart and the board.
“The financial decisions sit beyond me," the manager said. “Times have changed. In my first spell with the Millers, you could almost say you ran the whole football operation. You don't anymore. Other people make decisions on finance.”