Will Leeds United decide Joe Gelhardt’s Hull City future? Chief drops major hint | OneFootball

The Leeds frontman will have spent 18 months at Hull City by the end of this season

Joe Gelhardt netted for the first time since he returned from injury in Hull City's 3-1 loss at home to QPR on Saturday.

The 23-year-old had an electric two-month burst between October and December, scoring in eight of his 10 outings before going down with a calf injury that took him out for a month.

Evidently, that setback slowed his red-hot momentum, going five without scoring upon his return, but his 11th goal of the Championship campaign over the weekend has Tigers fans hoping that Gelhardt is back to his goalscoring best.

The Leeds United loanee is easily enjoying the best scoring season of his senior career, surpassing the five goals he netted in the second half of last season at the MKM Stadium in his first loan spell at Hull.

Come the end of the campaign, Gelhardt will have been playing in East Yorkshire for the better part of 18 months, and it's no secret that everyone associated with Hull wants him to stay there for the long term.

Hull City sporting director reveals hurdles to Joe Gelhardt's permanent move

Neither Gelhardt's parent club nor his current club are plain sailing heading into the final few months of the campaign, as Leeds continue to battle against an immediate Championship return, while Hull are working to make their promotion hopes a reality.

In an interview with Hull Live, Hull's sporting director, Jared Dublin, spoke about the club's desire to make the 23-year-old's move permanent in the summer, but outlined certain "moving parts" that may determine where the forward ends up.

"Division being probably the most important thing with Joffy [Gelhardt] in particular," Dublin said when generally asked about loan moves becoming permanent. "Where Leeds are, should they maintain Premier League status or come down, so there's loads of moving parts.

"On the Joffy one, it's very clear. I've been very vocal, the president, the gaffer, Joffy knows how much we love him, how much we value him, how much we would love to see him continue his Hull City story.

"That's case closed on that one. We'll see what happens."

Evidently, there's a lot of respect for Gelhardt amongst the higher-ups at the MKM Stadium, else they wouldn't have gone in for him once again this summer at the conclusion of his first loan deal.

And, after playing a key part in Hull's survival last season, netting key goals in vital wins over the likes of Preston North End, Oxford United and Plymouth Argyle, he's taken his scoring knack to another level and truly cemented himself as a top attacker in the Championship.

Regardless of where Leeds is in the summer, there'll be clear interest, and Hull will hope that the season-and-a-half he's spent on loan there will help their cause in bringing him in permanently.

Joe Gelhardt will surely leave Leeds United this coming summer

As Dublin alluded to, Leeds' mindset on Gelhardt's future will likely lie in what division they're playing in next season.

Despite the Premier League potential the former Wigan Athletic academy graduate has shown this season, Daniel Farke may be looking at more established top-flight talent in attacking areas to build on their first season back — that is, if they do stay up.

But, even if Leeds do drop off and suffer relegation, the likelihood that Gelhardt remains in the fold at Elland Road is rather slim. The 23-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season, so this summer stands at the final point at which they could cash in on his potential and sell for a decent fee.

And, despite what Leeds fans may think of him, it's clear that he's unfavoured by Farke, playing just 192 minutes of Championship action in his first campaign in charge, and nine last season before he was loaned out in January.

After being given much more of a chance away from the Elland Road fold, no one would begrudge Gelhardt for refusing a new deal in favour of a move away.

The 23-year-old has received that chance at Hull, and it'd be a major coup if they were able to secure his long-term services at the end of this season.