Loving touch for Mallik Wilks as winger joins Rotherham United from Sheffield Wednesday

The winger, who has an outstanding League One pedigree, has endured two difficult seasons with the Owls and now has a fresh chance at AESSEAL New York Stadium after agreeing a season-long loan deal.

The 25-year-old is the 14th summer singing for Evans and may make the squad for Rotherham's first home match of their third-tier campaign, against Bristol Rovers on Saturday

“Mallik needs to be playing football,” the boss said. “He needs to be loved, he needs to be all the things I associated with him when he was a young professional at Leeds United when I was first-team coach there.

“He's been an exceptional talent in League One, particularly in his time with Hull City. He's given many of my full-backs a problem over the years. It's why he got a good move to a club like Sheffield Wednesday.”

The capture of Wilks leaves the Millers chasing a ‘number 10’ and a midfielder to complete their squad.

Evans said: “Mallik adds something we've been seeking to add. We wanted another wide player. He's another piece of the jigsaw. He is a strong boy for a wide player. He can get at people, he can go both sides, he gets goals.

“Our chairman, Tony Stewart, as always when I ask him the question, said ‘yes’. We're immensely grateful to the Sheffield Wednesday chairman (Dejphon Chansiri) and everyone there for the last three or four days. They've been outstanding in trying to help us make it happen.”

Rotherham have been keen on landing Wilks for a while and discussion took some time to be concluded.

Evans, who is intent on leading a promotion push this term, praised the work of Millers director of football recruitment Rob Scott in helping to make the deal happen.

“I made some comments that if it had been me negotiating I'd have got out of it ages ago,” he said. “I have no patience!”

Wilks, who came through the youth ranks at Leeds and made one senior appearance for the Elland Road outfit, is primarily a right winger but can also operate centrally.

He shot to prominence in a 2018/19 loan spell with Doncaster Rovers, helping them reach the League One play-off semi-finals and scoring 16 goals in 55 games.

He went on to play for Barnsley and then Hull, with whom he won promotion to the Championship and hit the target 30 times in 91 matches, before joining Wednesday in 2022.

For the Owls, he made only 13 starts and had 29 substitute outings, seeing action 18 times in the second tier last term.

“His goals and assists record is up there with the best in League One in wide areas,” Evans said. “We need him in a season that's going to be one of transition for us because we're a new group.”

Wilks travelled with the Wednesday party for last night's Carabao Cup win at Hull but was left out of the squad when it became clear that his move to New York was about to go through.