Danny Rohl has opened up on the exit of one ‘great’ Sheffield Wednesday player.
The Owls have so far kept their offloading to a minimum since eight players were released at the end of the season.
A long list of their fringe players have been linked with the exit door, but so far it is only Mallik Wilks who has departed Hillsborough.
After making only one start in the Championship last term, the forward has joined relegated Rotherham United on loan.
Wilks has seen much more success in the third division in his career, bagging 55 goal contributions in 107 matches. His time with Sheffield Wednesday has been largely unsuccessful though, netting three goals in 42 outings.
Danny Rohl has now heaped praise on Wilks and has admitted that he was a ‘great person in the dressing room’.
Rohl really liked Mallik Wilks at Sheffield Wednesday
Speaking to The Star, the head coach said: “For Mallik it was difficult.
“Firstly I must say that I had a good meeting with him after last season, and he was very clear where he is in his position. And he came back very strong, worked very hard during the holidays, and got good body shape. He ran a lot and trained well, but all in all you see in our squad that we have changes in a big, big level – and it’s not easy to get minutes.
“I think for the players this is the most important key point, and when I take feedback from the players they’re enjoying it even if they don’t play much, and this is a good signal for a good environment. But of course players want to play and I understand this.
“I wish him all the best, I like Mallik, he’s a great person and was a great person in the changing room. Hopefully he can perform well at Rotherham and help them achieve their goals – then it’s a win/win for everybody.”
Wilks struggled to find any form during his two-year spell in Sheffield, with many fans calling for him to be sold this summer.
The Owls would have benefitted from his sale
The 25-year-old was far from capable of playing in Rohl’s team and, with wages rising to almost £12,000-per-week, it was right to consider parting ways with him.
However, Wednesday decided to loan him out instead and that could well be because there wasn’t a club willing to pay for him or cough up his full wage bill.
While it is good to get him out playing football, the Owls definitely would have benefitted from parting ways with him permanently and are now likely to see him leave for nothing next summer.
It is a good sign that they are getting rid of some of their dead wood though, because Wilks was never going to get another chance at the club and would have likely already played his last game even if he had stayed at Middlewood Road.