Joe Gelhardt has had enough at Leeds United as Elland Road exit now looms
Joe Gelhardt must leave Leeds United as soon as possible in order to kickstart his career, says former midfielder David Norris.
Gelhardt has played a paltry eight minutes of Championship football so far this season, his only start coming in a heavy Carabao Cup defeat by Middlesbrough back in August.
The 22-year-old has been a mainstay on the bench at Elland Road as he sits behind Mateo Joseph, Joel Piroe and Patrick Bamford in the pecking order of an already small squad.
Norris, speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, said: “I think it’s the right time now for Gelhardt to move on as soon as he can.
“It’s been a couple of years now of inconsistent football for him, and you get the feeling maybe that he’s had enough and isn’t invested anymore.
“I feel for him as he did well in parts in the Premier League, but now he’s at the age when you want to be playing consistently and he’s not going to get enough game time at Leeds.”
Joe Gelhardt should leave Leeds United for game time
From Daniel Farke’s perspective, to have players with any relative senior experience in his squad is a bonus right now, given the bare bones he is down to through injuries.
But with the way he sets up his attack, he is actually well stocked in the particular area Gelhardt is looking to break into, and it looks a world away from happening as the likes of Joseph and recently Piroe are preferred.
The harsh reality for the former Wigan Athletic prospect is that he has been on the periphery during his entire Leeds career – which when young and experiencing weekly Premier League matchdays is one thing, but now he needs to play.
A statistic which spells it out is that in the 2022-23 campaign when he joined Sunderland on loan in the January, Gelhardt made more starts (18) just in that half-season than of any full campaign with the Whites.
He has shown he can deliver or at least contribute in the Championship in a promotion-chasing side, and while Leeds will be hugely reluctant towards any winter departures, Gelhardt – under contract until 2027 – should be knocking on Farke’s door for a loan exit at the very least.
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