Huddersfield Town should launch late Leeds United transfer move: Opinion | OneFootball

Leeds United were in desperate need of strengthening their attack ahead of the closure of the transfer window at the end of this week, and in landing Joel Piroe from Swansea City they have gotten their hands on one of the Championship's top marksmen.

A £12 million deal to land the Dutchman was done last week and he got off to the perfect start in a Whites shirt when scoring on debut in a 4-3 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon.

Piroe started in attack alongside Georginio Rutter at Portman Road, but with head coach Daniel Farke's pursuit of attacking midfielder Nadeim Amiri, it's likely that the German will press on with a 4-2-3-1 formation in the long-term.

That will mean Piroe, Rutter and Patrick Bamford when fully-fit will battle it out to be Farke's starting striker, although Piroe can play in the number 10 role and Rutter is capable of being utilised out wide.

The forgotten man of sorts in this situation though is Joe Gelhardt, who could now be somewhat surplus to requirements at Elland Road for the 2023-24 season.

What is Joe Gelhardt's current situation at Leeds United?

Signed as a promising talent from Wigan Athletic in 2020, Gelhardt had to develop himself further in the under-21's for Leeds in his debut season, but in 2021-22 he made impacts - mainly off the bench - for the first-team in the Premier League.

With game-time few and far between last season though, Gelhardt was loaned out to Sunderland for the second half of 2022-23, but in his 20 appearances for the Black Cats he scored just the three times.

More was expected of the youngster with regular game-time given to him, and even though he started against both Birmingham City and West Brom in the Championship in the early stages of this season, as well as scoring in an EFL Cup win over Shrewsbury Town, Gelhardt will be down the pecking order when Bamford is fit and ready after the international break.

Contracted to Leeds for another four years, Gelhardt can't really afford to be sitting on the bench every week at the age of 21 and not getting much game-time when he already has plenty of Championship experience, so there's a case to be made that Farke should loan him out as he has his eyes on other attacking talents in the final few days of the window.

And one club who need to add to their options in the final third who could benefit from Gelhardt arriving at their club is Huddersfield Town.

Why should Huddersfield Town try to sign Joe Gelhardt?

Huddersfield have struggled in the opening weeks of the 2023-24 season, picking up just a single point from their first four Championship fixtures.

Whilst that would suggest Neil Warnock's defensive options are a bit of an issue, they are struggling just as much at the top end of the pitch with just two goals scored - one from centre-back Michal Helik and an own goal from Middlesbrough's Dael Fry.

Danny Ward has been leading the line for the Terriers and whilst Dutch forward Delano Burgzorg has arrived recently on loan from Mainz, more options are needed as the likes of Kian Harratt and Kyle Hudlin may not cut it at Championship level.

Town would be a step down somewhat for Gelhardt as he was loaned into a play-off battle with Sunderland last season, whilst Huddersfield - whilst in the early stages of the season - are struggling, but it's a move that would make sense for a lot of reasons.

Gelhardt would get regular minutes at the John Smith's Stadium and he can cover a number of positions aside from centre-forward as he's showed he's more-than capable of playing out wide or as a number 10.

It would also be a move of convenience location-wise as well, with Huddersfield and Leeds basically being neighbours in West Yorkshire, and whilst the clubs are rivals to an extent it would not stop deals taking place if it meant best for Gelhardt's short-term future.

Leeds at the end of the day may decide that they need Gelhardt for cover even though he is unlikely to get many minutes this season, but it is worth an approach from Huddersfield to see if they can add a quality player to their attack in a much-needed deal.