Loan Report: Crew and Gelhardt make second debuts | OneFootball

The EFL season is underway, with two Leeds United loanees coming off the bench over the weekend to make their second debuts for their respective clubs.

Having rejoined Doncaster Rovers just days earlier, midfielder Charlie Crew made an appearance in their 2-1 win over Mansfield Town, playing the final half-hour on Saturday.

The Welsh international, who featured 13 times for Rovers as they won promotion last season, was introduced with his side trailing 1-0 at the One Call Stadium, before Grant McCann’s men staged a comeback with a brace from Owen Bailey.

Speaking of his delight at re-signing Crew, McCann said:

“He is obviously a special talent, as we all know. Seeing him over the last couple of days in training reminds us how good he is, how much energy he has, and how well he can handle the ball. I’m really pleased to have him back, and I’m pleased that Leeds have trusted us again with his development.”

Elsewhere, Joe Gelhardt’s loan move to Hull City was announced on Saturday morning – just hours before the forward came on in the 80th minute of the Tigers’ 0-0 draw with Coventry City at the CBS Arena.

Reflecting on the move and the impact he hopes Gelhardt will make, Hull boss Sergej Jakirović said:

“He was my vision. I asked so many times about him because, in our situation with the embargo and everything else, he wanted to come to us. We need such a player, and there’s no adaptation time. The group likes him, and he knows our environment as well, so this is a very, very good choice for us.”

The EFL Cup awaits both Crew and Gelhardt on Tuesday night, with Doncaster making the short trip to Middlesbrough (7:30pm) whilst Hull City travel to Wrexham (7:45pm).

Max Wöber, on loan at Werder Bremen, has a little longer to wait until his season gets underway – the German side’s first competitive match kicking off at 7:45pm on Friday, a DFB-Pokal tie against Arminia Bielefeld.

After completing his move to Mallorca over the weekend, Mateo Joseph could be in line to make his debut for Los Bermellones on Saturday (6:30pm), as they open their 2025/26 campaign against La Liga champions Barcelona.