Potential Leeds United recall for Hull City's Joe Gelhardt debated - "It's something to consider" | OneFootball

Joe Gelhardt's return to Hull City sparked plenty of excitement in East Yorkshire

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…

Hull City's transfer activity this summer ended up being rather shrewd, despite the restrictions which were imposed upon the club by the EFL.

After instances of delayed payments, the Tigers were placed under a three-window transfer fee restriction - a punishment which has since been reduced to two windows - meaning Sergej Jakirovic and the hierarchy at the MKM Stadium had to smartly navigate their way to the signatures of key targets.

City maintained their Championship status by virtue of goal difference last season at the expense of Luton Town, with the main concern moving forward being a distinct lack of goals in East Yorkshire.

Unsurpisingly, this was the department which saw a plethora of transfer links come to the fore across the summer, although the return of Joe Gelhardt on loan from Leeds United was one deal that sparked plenty of excitement in this part of the world given his previous exploits.

With the aforementioned circumstances in mind, Football League World asked our Hull City fan pundit, Cameron Gibson, whether he has any concerns over the Whites potentially recalling the forward in January and sending him elsewhere.

Unconcerned Hull City stance offered as Joe Gelhardt returns to MKM Stadium from Leeds United

The 22-year-old has endured a difficult period at Elland Road ever since Daniel Farke's appointment two seasons ago, eventually sourcing regular minutes once again under Ruben Selles in HU3 from January onwards.

The former England youth international's impact was immediate, scoring five times in 20 appearances - the joint-second highest tally across the entire squad last season - eventually returning to the club in August for a second loan stint despite a change in head coach.

As a result, Gibson has expressed no concerns that Leeds may recall him in January due to his previous predicament in West Yorkshire on top of his relationship with fellow stars at the MKM.

"It's obviously something to consider but I don't think it's likely," Gibson told FLW. "It's football, anything can happen.

"He was available for transfer in the summer. Leeds had him publicly for sale and there were reports of a £7-8m asking price. As the window went on, he still didn't leave. I can only imagine Leeds lowered their asking price, and he still didn't leave.

"That, to me, tells me one of two things," Gibson added. "Either a club came in that Gelhardt didn't want to go to, or he had his heart set on coming back to us.

"At the end of the day, why would Leeds have sent him to us for no loan fee, when they were considering selling him.? In my opinion, clearly no one came in for him that he wanted to go to, so he only wanted to stay here in my opinion.

"If Leeds were to recall him in January, whose to say he's going to want to go anywhere else apart from Hull City," he added.

"Leeds could agree a deal, but if Gelhardt doesn't want to go, then it isn't going to happen.

"We know he's got good mates in the dressing room, with Charlie Hughes being one of those before he even moved to Hull. I think that's a good pull and part of why he chose to come back.

"He's had a great start to the season, he's flourishing," Gibson stated. "So from his point of view, there's no reason for him to want to leave unless he thinks he's ready to test himself in the Premier League, to which I disagree. I think he'd need a full season with Hull City to be ready for that.

"Even after that, there's no guarantee that you're going to get a Premier League move. Leeds might recall him or you might go back at the end of the loan, then he's got a decision to make. Does he come back to Hull on a free? Does he go somewhere else on a free?

"If Leeds were going to sell him, they'd have done it in the summer," our fan pundit continued. "Clearly there was no deal to be made and he came back to us and he's here now.

"I don't worry about it. But like I said, it's football, anything can happen, especially with Hull City.

"It looks like we're in a good financial position right now. The owner's just converted £15m of his shareholder loan into equity of the club. Now we're in a really strong financial position.

"Next summer, we should be able to offer Gelhardt a really good signing-on fee on a free transfer if he comes back to us, or if he signs a new contract at Leeds, we should be in a position to buy him.

"As long as things continue and his form continues, I would be happy to have him."

Joe Gelhardt would put himself in the shop window with another strong loan spell at Hull City

As Gibson alluded to, there is seemingly no way back for Gelhardt in West Yorkshire given Leeds' aforementioned desire to make a profit on his services following promotion.

He is currently under contract with United until the summer of 2027, meaning next summer could be the prime chance for the club to cash in on his services, and if his contributions at Hull were to continue in such fashion, the Tigers would certainly be fronting the queue for his signature on a permanent basis.

Gelhardt has hit the ground running upon his return with two extremely neat finishes against Oxford United and Bristol City, linking up smartly with the likes of Oli McBurnie, Matt Crooks and Joel Ndala in the process in what is an exciting attacking quartet being formed despite the club's restrictions in the market.