“Really bizarre" - Claim made on Joe Gelhardt's Leeds United future | OneFootball

The young star has failed to set the world alight during his time at Elland Road

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It’s safe to say that despite plenty of early promise, Joe Gelhardt’s Leeds United career has never really taken off.

The former Wigan Athletic man has struggled for game time ever since making the move to Elland Road in the summer of 2020, with just two starts for the Whites in the 23/24 campaign.

In total, the 22-year-old has made just 45 league appearances in his four years with the Yorkshire side, and although he has shown glimpses of quality when given the opportunity, the front man has so far failed to make much of an impact during his time at the club.

As the transfer window comes gets into full swing, the conversation about Gelhardt’s future will start to rear its head once again, and Football League World's Leeds fan pundit, Kris Smith has had his say on the young star.

Joe Gelhardt Leeds United prediction made as Whites prepare for summer transfer business

Having shown early potential at the start of his Wigan career, United were quick to pounce four years ago to make Gelhardt theirs, with a reported £1.1 million fee enough to lure him from the cash-strapped Latics.

The Whites fought off rumoured interest from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur for his services that summer, which only proves how well-thought of he was at that moment in time, although United fans are yet to see the best of him in a white shirt.

Having failed to make a single appearance in his first year at the club, Gelhardt went on to feature 20 times in the following Premier League campaign, and netted his first goal for the club in a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea in December 2021.

His finest moment at Elland Road would be the injury-time winner against Norwich City later in the season, which earned him more time to prove himself to the onlooking Yorkshire folk, given the ecstasy he produced with his match-winning effort.

But two years on, things haven’t much changed for the attacker, who spent the second-half of the 22/23 campaign on loan at Sunderland before another season of sporadic game time in the previous campaign.

It’s a career path that has many a Leeds fan puzzled, and Kris yearns for the superstar they saw breaking through in the past after another season in apparent wilderness for the 22-year-old.

Smith said: “It’s really bizarre to me what’s happened with Gelhardt since he’s joined us, because he looked like the second coming of Rooney when he broke through and was tearing up the under-21s.

“I remember a cameo against Wolves under Bielsa in the Premier League, where he was just tearing their defence apart and won a penalty in the end, but ever since then he just hasn’t really kicked on.

“He had flashes under Jesse Marsch when we stayed up, but other than that there’s nothing really that’s shown that he could reach the levels that he potentially could have done.

“For me, he’s in a similar predicament to Joel Piroe at Leeds in that he’s definitely not a number nine who can lead with his back to goal, but he’s not a number ten either that can create from deep.

“He doesn’t really suit our current lineup, but he’s still got something to offer, for me. You can see every time that he comes on the pitch with his raw talent, it’s there in flashes.

“Whether he’s bulldozing defenders out the way or how he strikes a football, but he just doesn’t get the chances to warrant a worthwhile place in our squad.”

Leeds United must prepare for Joe Gelhardt departure as financial restraints continue

After failing to earn promotion to the Premier League last season, it has been reported that Leeds United will need to raise millions in transfer fees this season, to avoid breaching the EFL’s spending rules.

That means that the Yorkshire side are going to need to offload a number of their top talents this summer, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville [pictured] and Willie Gnonto among those to be linked with a move away from Elland Road.

Gelhardt has also had plenty of interest in his signature over the past 12 months, with Ipswich Town rumoured to have had an interest last summer, as well as Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers.

With that in mind, Smith concludes that a move away for Gelhardt this summer could help to keep other talents at the club, with plenty of transfer business expected in LS11 in the coming months.

He continued: “Heading into the summer knowing that every club has PSR issues to consider, and not many players that they want to sell, Gelhardt looks to me like one of the players that I’d be considering offers for.

“Especially if we can get a decent offer from a club thinking that he still has the potential there to fulfil.”