Leeds United, Sunderland transfer miss will always play on Wigan Athletic minds: View | OneFootball

Wigan Athletic academy graduate Joe Gelhardt impressed during his youth days with the Latics, and formerly captained the England under-18 side while he plied his trade for the northwest outfit.

But the bright youngster only spent one full season as a senior player for the Latics, during the 2019/20 campaign, in which he made 18 Championship appearances, while his solitary goal for the club came during a 2-2 draw with Hull City in September 2019.

By the summer of 2020, Gelhardt's former side were plunged into administration by ex-owner Stanley Choi, so the club were forced to sell their assets, including the talented forward who joined Leeds United.

Latics supporters will always feel understandably bitter that they were never able to see more of one of their club's finest academy products in recent years.

The fact that Gelhardt's career has not advanced in the way that it could have done will pain the Brick Community Stadium faithful further, as the 22-year-old made just 10 Championship appearances for Leeds last campaign, failing to register a goal contribution in the league.

But back in January 2023, the Latics academy product almost re-unified with his former club, as the Athletic reported that he was close to a return on a loan basis, while Wigan Today journalist Paul Kendrick posted on X that amid interest from several Championship clubs, Gelhardt chose to re-join the 'Tics.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, the forward ended up spending the second half of the 2022/23 Championship season at Sunderland, where he scored three goals and helped the Black Cats secure a play-off spot.

Gelhardt transfer miss will always play on Latics minds

While the former England youth international was helping the Black Cats land a top-six place, the Latics were fighting a Championship relegation battle and could have majorly benefited from their academy product's services.

Shaun Maloney's men were relegated back to League One in 2023, amid points deductions and further financial mismanagement, this time overseen by former owner Abdulrahman Al Jasmi and ex-chairman Talal Al Hammad.

But a player of Gelhardt's ability would have given the Latics a fighting chance, and supporters will wonder how well he would have linked up with former fan favourite Will Keane, one of the club's finest goalscorers in recent years.

Courtesy, in part, of a three-point penalty, the Latics finished the 2022/23 Championship season seven points adrift of safety, but a player with Gelhardt's sparkle could have been a match-winner in tight games at the bottom end of the table.

Gelhardt exit epitomised Latics' 2020 heartbreak

Before entering administration in the summer of 2020, the Latics seemed to be moving in a positive direction, and if it wasn't for their 12-point deduction, the side then managed by Paul Cook would have finished in 13th at the end of the 2019/20 second tier campaign, despite spending much of the season in a relegation battle.

Cook had some high quality players, such as Antonee Robinson, who has gone on to become a solid Premier League player with Fulham, as well as Kieffer Moore, who has twice won promotion to the top-flight with Bournemouth and Ipswich respectively, at his disposal in Greater Manchester.

That Latics side also boasted Kal Naismith, who played in the Championship play-offs for Luton Town in 2022, and Leon Balogun, who went on to win the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers.

But all of these players had to move on from the Latics, as the club did everything it could to stay afloat in the most turbulent time of its history, and despite all of these exits, the one that will always hurt the most is that of Gelhardt as he was a talented homegrown player.

The troubling circumstances of Gelhardt's exit is a big part of the reason as to why the club were so desperate for his return in 2023, but it wasn't to be.