Hey Grant McCann, please stop talking about Mallik Wilks’ contract and his future at Leeds United

So Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann has some opinions about the future of Mallik Wilks at Leeds United and any future contracts he signs with the club.

I would strongly suggest that he keep them to himself, and get Wilks’ name and Leeds out of his mouth.

McCann was quoted by the Yorkshire Post as saying:

My personal opinion is he will not ever get a chance at Leeds. I think that they will strengthen again in January and they are strong up there (in attack), with the boy Tyler Roberts. It is going to be difficult for Mallik.

He loves it here. If it was my decision, I would sign him today as he has huge potential in him. But if he keeps going in the way he is, there are going to be clubs sniffing around him.

Wilks has shown promise on his loans away from Leeds, and he’s 19, the same age as Roberts. However, Wilks is at an important time in his development, where he needs to be playing first team football on a regular basis outside of the U23s if he’s going to develop. And while Ryan Edmundson and Tyler Roberts have been good, it’s not as if the club has give up on Wilks. His future at the club should be up to the coaching staff at Leeds, not the Doncaster Rovers manager who appears to be trying to unsettle a loan player in the press.

In fact, rather than focus on who else Leeds have at these positions, Wilks would do best to remain focused on his own game. Things change rather quickly in football, and there is no certainly that anyone will be at the same club after any transfer window. Leeds fans are particularly aware of how easy it is for good players to be ripped from a club and the opportunities that arise from those departures.

So if McCann wants to sign Wilks on a permanent basis, he can make an offer. But going to the press and talking about his future at Leeds it just makes it seem as if he’s trying to unsettle him, and that’s not right.