Mallik Wilks is one of the brighter prospects coming through at Leeds United currently, so perhaps a loan move would be a wise decision.
While Pep Clotet may no longer be contracted to Leeds, his new position as Oxford United manager perhaps presents the two clubs with a great opportunity to come to some sort of arrangement that involves some of the Whites’ brightest prospects heading to the Kassam Stadium on loan to get some first-team experience.
And the first player Leeds should perhaps consider offering to their former assistant is Mallik Wilks.
Pep Clotet (L) is now in charge of Oxford United after leaving Leeds
Wilks is arguably one of the brighter talents coming through at the academy currently, but his chances of earning some first-team football at Elland Road look somewhat bleak next season.
If new boss Thomas Christiansen keeps faith with the forwards Leeds had at their disposal last season, then Chris Wood, Marcus Antonsson, Kemar Roofe and Souleymane Doukara will all be ahead of Wilks in the pecking order, and it is undoubtedly not out of the question to suggest that a new striker may be on the new manager’s radar during this window also.
If the 18-year-old finds his path to the first-team as congested as that then surely following in Lewie Coyle’s footsteps and heading to League One for a loan spell would be a wise decision for the youngster.
And in Clotet, he would be linking up with a coach who was part of the backroom team when Wilks earned his first-team debut and was fairly frequently finding himself on the bench in the Championship, so the Spaniard may have some good ideas about how to help him develop significantly – which would surely benefit Oxford in the short-term and Leeds in the long run.
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