Joe Gelhardt features for Leeds United U23s after cameo v Southampton on Saturday
Leeds United striker Joe Gelhardt is playing his second game in three days, but this time for the Under-23s.
The 19-year-old came off the bench against Southampton to replace Dan James in the 59th minute.
Now, he has been named among the starters to take on Crystal Palace in Premier League 2.
Leeds shared the lineup via their official Twitter handle.
Deserves a start
Playing Dan James as a number nine makes very little and we do not know why Jesse Marsch is persisting with it.
We saw Marcelo Bielsa do that and it seldom paid off.
All James offers is a presence off the ball but he’s not a striker in the true sense of the term.
He does not have the ability to draw players out of position and find spaces to run into.
Defenders do not seem worried when he’s in the team as more often than not he’s not going to be getting the better of them.
Gelhardt is a proven goal scorer for the youth teams and has done well in his cameos for the senior side as well.
Off the ball, he is a menace and is tireless while closing down the opposition.
It is time for Marsch to take a leap of faith on him as he’s clearly a promising attacker who will thrive if played regularly.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are leading the race to complete a major signing and have already opened talks to seal a £25m deal.