"He could be the difference" - Rotherham United told to move for Sheffield Wednesday attacker | OneFootball

FLW's Rotherham United fan pundit discussed his side's interest in Sheffield Wednesday winger Mallik Wilks

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Rotherham United have been told that completing a deal to sign Sheffield Wednesday winger Mallik Wilks could be the difference between finishing in the automatic promotion places and finishing in the play-offs.

Football Insider have reported that the Millers are keen to bring Wilks to the club from their South Yorkshire rivals as they look to complete an immediate return to the Championship.

The 25-year-old joined Wednesday from Hull City in the summer of 2022 but hasn't made quite the desired impact at Hillsborough, and he was left out of the matchday squad for their 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle on the weekend.

However, Wilks has shown in the past that he could be a serious asset at League One level, and Steve Evans appears keen to bring him to the New York Stadium before the transfer window closes.

Mallik Wilks could be the difference for Rotherham United

Our Rotherham United fan pundit, Tom Eyre, believes that Wilks could be a good signing for Rotherham despite a couple of tough seasons at Sheffield Wednesday.

Speaking to Football League World, Tom said: "The Wilks deal is interesting.

"His previous record in League One is fantastic, it’s really good, 19 goals and eight assists in one season at Hull is fantastic, and he gives you firepower that you won’t find across the league anywhere else.

"But I think it’s more of a risk based on the last two seasons he’s had with Sheffield Wednesday and some of the attitude problems that some fans are apparently unhappy with.

"Other factors around that are tough to overcome, but if he does come, and we can get the best out of him, he could be the difference between going up and hitting the play-offs."

Signing Mallik Wilks could be a risk worth taking for Rotherham United

Wilks played just 18 times for Wednesday last season, only 15 of them coming in the league, and he scored just once, showing he wasn't a prominent figure under Xisco Munoz or Danny Rohl, and it may take him a while to get up to speed should he join Rotherham United.

However, Wilks showed during Hull City's 2020/21 title-winning campaign that he could be an excellent League One player, and Millers boss Evans would be hoping to get that sort of form out of him if he moved to the New York Stadium.

Given his lack of form and regular playing time at Wednesday, it does make signing Wilks something of a risk, but you'd have thought that the player would be hungry to play regularly and prove a point after a difficult couple of seasons.

On his day, Wilks could be one of the best players in League One, and it's easy to see why Rotherham, along with a number of League One clubs such as Reading, Stockport County and Charlton Athletic have been linked with him this summer.

Given the fact he's set to play a bit-part role at Hillsborough, a summer exit makes sense, and a move to Rotherham could be an excellent way for Wilks to get his career back on track.