Kenny Jackett: Jed Wallace needs to get physical

Jed Wallace needs to add physicality to his quality in order to become a Championship regular for Wolves, boss Kenny Jackett believes.

The 21-year-old has moved to League One side Millwall on a one-month loan deal.

Wallace had regularly been an unused substitute at Wolves, with his last appearance coming in the 4-2 defeat at Derby in October.

But he has started two consecutive matches for the Lions, playing 65 minutes in a 2-1 league win at Oldham and then 90 minutes in last night's 2-0 Football League Trophy defeat at home to Oxford.

And talking of Oxford, both Wallace and Jackett will hope the player can follow a similar path to Jordan Graham, who after starring on loan for the Us has returned to produce a succession of impressive performances for Wolves.

Jackett said: "It's a good move. Millwall did well with George Saville, and he did very well for them, as Lee Evans has done for Bradford.

"It's nice when they can go in towards the top end of the league below and the games and the confidence and the physical strength can build up, because the Championship is a more powerful league than League One.

"For Jed now if he can find that side – he has the quality and the goalscoring ability – if he can just develop now physically I think he'll be strong enough to play in this league.

"Jed has gone straight into the team, which is what we want.

"He had consistently been a substitute for us. For him to go one further and play fist team football is good, and at a time where they've got a lot of games."

Wallace moved from Portsmouth in the summer but has struggled to find a role in the Wolves.

Ahead of last night's Oxford game he said: "I will hope to kick on, with a view to staying until the end of the season - or to going back and kicking on at Wolves.

"I had probably three or four options and weighed them up. But one stood out for me, with the calibre of club and the players here.

"I looked at league positions and crowds - I have been at Portsmouth, so I am used to passionate fans. It is a good fit."

And after the Oxford defeat, Millwall boss Neil Harris praised Wallace for his performance.

He said: "Jed did really well. He showed the quality he has. And he played with freedom."

Meanwhile Saville, who has returned from a loan spell at Millwall to take a place on the Wolves bench for the last two matches, won't be heading back out on loan for now.

Jackett is keen for extra cover in the central midfield area.

"We're aware for George he does need games to be able to develop," he said.

"Should we get injuries or suspensions in the midfield area where we have three (Kevin McDonald, Conor Coady and David Edwards) currently playing, we then have Jack Price and George Saville, so we don't want to leave ourselves too short.

"But similarly players need games and it's quite often a balancing act, particularly if the player is 21 years old."