The Leeds United striker only signed a deal in August but will that be enough given the latest rumours linking him with Everton and West Bromwich Albion?
Mallik Wilks may have only put pen to paper on a new contract in August, but one wonders if Whites owner Andrea Radrizzani will have to improve that contract sooner than he first thought following fresh links with a potential move.
According to the Daily Mail, Everton and West Bromwich Albion are both interested in signing the 18-year-old and, while he has a deal at Elland Road until the summer of 2019, Wilks’ form for loan club Accrington Stanley, along with the latest claims, may mean improved terms are offered in a bid to put them to bed.
It could be argued that Radrizzani preempted the expected interest in Wilks by offering him a new contract last summer, with a 12-month extension ending any chance of a swift exit at the end of the current campaign.
Unfortunately it does not appear to have put off other clubs, with Wilks’ goal-scoring form while on loan in League Two – where he has become something of a super-sub – only making him a more attractive long-term investment.
Wilks will know he is doing everything right, making the most of limited chances to score five goals in 20 (mostly brief) appearances for Accrington so far.
But Leeds will want to ensure they hold all the cards when it comes to his future, and that may mean offering fresh terms before potentially giving him first-team chances in the second half of the season.
Wilks is too good to lose and Leeds should try to tie him down until at least 2020, with the promise of a breakthrough that has come for so many Whites teenagers before him.
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