“We have had to constantly build him up” – Darren Moore delivers verdict on Sheffield Wednesday attacker | OneFootball

Darren Moore believes striker Mallik Wilks will continue to improve at Sheffield Wednesday as his fitness improves at the League One club.

Wilks joined Wednesday in the summer transfer window from Championship side Hull City after weeks of ongoing speculation.

However, since joining the Owls, the 23-year-old has endured a stuttering start to life at Hillsborough. Wilks saw his game time change at the back end of last season when Hull brought Shota Arveladze into the club as their new manager, and that continued into pre-season and the start of the 2022/23 campaign before the striker joined Wednesday.

However, it hasn’t been the dream start that Wilks and Wednesday fans would have hoped for, as the 23-year-old has suffered from regular fitness issues.

Wilks has started just two games for Moore’s side in his 10 appearances so far, but he bagged a goal and an assist in his last outing against Burton Albion a couple of weeks ago and then missed the wins against Morecombe and Accrington Stanley.

Moore has now spoken on Wilks’ start to life at Wednesday and his fitness struggles. He told Yorkshire Live, via Hull live: “A lot of fans were asking where Mallik was, but we had to pitch him in at the right time.

“We have been working incredibly hard with him. You have got to remember when he came from Hull, he hadn’t really played the season before due to injury and he didn’t have a pre-season. We brought him in, and we have had to work on his fitness. He has almost been doing his own pre-season whilst the games have been going on.

“It has been a hard time for him because when players have been finishing (in training), he has been doing extra work. His body mass and weight has come down, which is fantastic.

“He has been committed and has waited for his opportunity. I thought Burton was the right game to pitch him in. He could not have produced that level of work and performance any sooner.

“He also had a thigh strain which kept him out for 12 days, so we have had to constantly build him up. But he put in a really good performance against Burton. I thought he got stronger and stronger as the game went on.

“He needs those match minutes. For him to have got those match minutes will have done him the world of good. You can see he’s a player who can go past people, he’s very quick and when he gets the other side, he’s got real quality.”

1 of 18

Atdhe Nuhui?

SCR Altach Rapid Wien Salzburg Sturm Graz

The Verdict

Wilks’ start to life at Hillsborough hasn’t been what many expected, as the striker came with a lot of promise after his time in League One and the Championship with Hull.

The 23-year-old is obviously someone Moore is very keen on after pursuing the player for a while, and the Wednesday manager will be looking to find a way to get Wilks up to full fitness as soon as possible and hope he can maintain it.

If the striker can remain fit, he will be a big asset for Moore and Wednesday, as he is someone who has previously performed at a strong level in this league, and with the Owls near the top end of the table, he could just be the difference between play-offs and automatic promotion.