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Portsmouth boss Paul Cook has challenged Wanderers striker Conor Wilkinson to show the potential that earned him a move to the Macron Stadium from Millwall three years ago has not gone to waste.
The big striker had a succession of loan moves at Chester, Torquay, Oldham, Barnsley and Newport before his latest one with Pompey last week.
Wilkinson has two years left on his contract at Wanderers, who will be monitoring his progress closely.
He is unlikely to make his debut at Fratton Park against fellow League Two play-off chasers Carlisle United this weekend after limping out of the Republic of Ireland Under-21s' 3-1 defeat in Slovenia.
"We watched him at Oldham last year and it looked like he would go on and be a really top player,” Cook told The News.
“For whatever reason he hasn’t done that so certainly having a look at him over a period of games will be as interesting for us, as it will be for Conor.
“If Conor is going to fulfil his potential he has got to do that sooner rather than later in my opinion.
“I’ve followed him for quite a bit, he has been on quite a lot of managers’ lists.
“When he joined Barnsley this year it was after a very good spell with Lee Johnson at Oldham, where he looked excellent. It looked like he would go on to become a really good player.
“For whatever reason something has gone amiss, that could be for a number of reasons – injuries, clashes of personalities – it could be for anything.
“We just want to have a look at it and see if he is a good fit for us.
“He has a lot of talent but has to fulfil it eventually. That’s the thing about talent, you cannot keep speaking about potential.
“We are certainly going to offer Conor a platform to fulfil that potential – and he has to grasp it.”
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The big striker had a succession of loan moves at Chester, Torquay, Oldham, Barnsley and Newport before his latest one with Pompey last week.
Wilkinson has two years left on his contract at Wanderers, who will be monitoring his progress closely.
He is unlikely to make his debut at Fratton Park against fellow League Two play-off chasers Carlisle United this weekend after limping out of the Republic of Ireland Under-21s' 3-1 defeat in Slovenia.
"We watched him at Oldham last year and it looked like he would go on and be a really top player,” Cook told The News.
“For whatever reason he hasn’t done that so certainly having a look at him over a period of games will be as interesting for us, as it will be for Conor.
“If Conor is going to fulfil his potential he has got to do that sooner rather than later in my opinion.
“I’ve followed him for quite a bit, he has been on quite a lot of managers’ lists.
“When he joined Barnsley this year it was after a very good spell with Lee Johnson at Oldham, where he looked excellent. It looked like he would go on to become a really good player.
“For whatever reason something has gone amiss, that could be for a number of reasons – injuries, clashes of personalities – it could be for anything.
“We just want to have a look at it and see if he is a good fit for us.
“He has a lot of talent but has to fulfil it eventually. That’s the thing about talent, you cannot keep speaking about potential.
“We are certainly going to offer Conor a platform to fulfil that potential – and he has to grasp it.”
Source