Hull City manager Shota Arveladze has insisted that Mallik Wilks will not be leaving the club during the current transfer window.

The Tigers opted to trigger an option in Wilks' contract earlier this summer which extended his stay at the MKM Stadium until 2023.

The 23-year-old has attracted a significant amount of interest from Sheffield Wednesday this summer.

As per a report from Yorkshire Live earlier this week, the Owls are still hoping to seal a deal for Wilks despite having a bid believed to be in the region of £200,000 rejected by Hull.

Wilks was included in the Tigers' match-day squad for their showdown with Bristol City last weekend due to injury.

In the absence of the winger, Hull managed to secure all three points in this fixture thanks to goals from Ozan Tufan and Jean Michael Seri.

Hull will be looking to back up this 2-1 win by sealing a positive result in their showdown with Preston North End tomorrow.

Ahead of the club's trip to Deepdale, Arveladze has admitted that he doesn't want to part ways with Wilks in the closing stages of the window.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Arveladze said: "I am not expecting him to leave,

"I am expecting him to use all his energy to play with us.

"He had a good pre-season. "Unfortunately, he missed eight days because of a small pain. "Now he is back again and I hope he gets his chance, whether that is 10, 25 or 45 minutes.

"I never wanted him to leave.

"It is his turn to show he wants to stay and play."

 

 

The Verdict

With Arveladze admitting that Hull aren't looking to sell Wilks, it will be interesting to see whether the former Leeds United man will be able to make a difference in the Championship this season.

During the previous campaign, the winger only managed to provide four direct goal contributions at this level in 20 appearances.

If Wilks is handed the chance to showcase his talent this weekend, he will need to deliver an eye-catching performance against Preston in order to boost his chances of featuring regularly for Hull in the coming months.

By using the confidence that they gained from their win over the Robins to their advantage in tomorrow's game, the Tigers could potentially secure a positive result on their travels.