Leeds United: Fresh Joe Gelhardt development should be no surprise | OneFootball

It has been reported that Leeds forward Joe Gelhardt wishes to leave Elland Road on loan in January, and that should come as no surprise.

It's understood that Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt is seeking a loan move away from Elland Road in the January transfer window, and that should come as no surprise.

According to an exclusive report from MOT Leeds News on 6 November, the 22-year-old Leeds attacker is hoping to seal a temporary move away from the club during the winter window.

Gelhardt has fallen down the pecking order in Daniel Farke's squad this season, and is understood to have grown frustrated with his lack of game time after having made just two Championship appearances so far this term (as of matchday 14).

The former England youth international made his first-team breakthrough with Leeds back in the 2021/22 season, but hasn't ever truly cemented his place in the starting XI, and it would appear that he feels his best chance of seeing regular football is by moving away from Elland Road.

Leeds have quality in attack

Getting Gelhardt in the team isn't easy

Despite seeing star attacking players such as Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville leave the club during the summer, Farke still has an embarrassment of riches in his forward line at Championship level this season.

Gelhardt can operate both as a traditional centre-forward, in a central role behind the striker, or even out on the right-wing. But, wherever he looks in the dressing room, he can find proven and highly talented players ahead of him in those areas.

Joel Piroe, Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph block his route to the starting striker shirt, whilst Brenden Aaronson has made the number 10 role his own so far this campaign.

On the right flank, there's the small problem of having Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto for competition, and should he want to play as a left-winger, then he'd have to leapfrog Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon.

As such, there just doesn't appear to be a vacancy in Farke's Leeds lineup to accommodate Gelhardt at this moment in time, and with the possibility of further additions being made in January, he could be pushed even further to the fringes should he remain with the club.

Gelhardt needs to be playing football at this stage of his career

A Leeds exit should loom

There are certain points in a young player's career where sitting on the bench and gaining that experience of being around the first-team squad is extremely valuable, but Gelhardt has moved past that stage now.

He'll be turning 23 as the 46-game season wraps up in May, and having already made 35 Premier League appearances for Leeds across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, and having racked up numerous appearances with both Leeds and Sunderland in the Championship in recent years, he'll have gotten that taste for regular football.

As a club, once you've exposed a player to regular football, it can be very tough to preach patience to them if they are no longer getting that. Therefore, it should come as no surprise to those within the football club, nor the supporters, to see Gelhardt wanting a loan move.

He's shown that he's ready to make an impact in senior football, and by sourcing him regular minutes to perhaps either a bottom-half Championship side or a promotion challenger in League One, he could find himself scoring some crucial goals in the second half of the season for someone.

It would also perhaps give Gelhardt the best possible chance of making a career at Elland Road, as should he come back in the summer after scoring goals and playing plenty of football elsewhere, there's every chance he'd return to his parent club a much improved player for having that experience.

Staying with Leeds could risk stumping his progression, and for a player who's shown such promise over the years, that would be a real shame. Leeds supporters should also see his desire for a loan move as a positive sign, as it highlights his hunger to not only play, but to impress and show what he can offer the club in the future.

It would surely be more of a concern if he was content with being handed a couple of minutes at the end of games for the rest of the season.

A loan move appears to make total sense for all parties involved, and it could be a deal that happens fairly quickly once the January transfer window opens.