Leeds United loanee Joe Gelhardt suffers crisis of confidence at Sunderland admits Tony Mowbray
Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray admits Leeds United loanee Joe Gelhardt is currently low on confidence after being deployed in an unfamiliar role since his January loan move.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the talented youngster had been “thrown in at the deep end” at the Stadium of Light, according to Chronicle Live journalist James Hunter, with the Black Cats fanbase expecting two forwards in January in the absence of main striker Ross Stewart.
Gelhardt has struggled to impose himself at the Stadium of Light since his loan move from Leeds in January, registering just one goal and an assist in eight successive starts in the Championship.
And Sunderland boss Mowbray has admitted the role Gelhardt is having to play doesn’t particularly suit the forward’s skill set.
He said [via the Northern Echo, 12 March]: “We talked about him as a nine and a half really, which means he’s happy to play 10, he’s happy to play wide, he’s happy to play down the middle. And yet it wasn’t the intention to put such a young guy as the main man down the middle.
“The plan was to play off a centre-forward really because I feel when I watched his best clips at Leeds when he’s been on the pitch playing in the Premier League, he sort of buzzes around the main guy and dives into little spaces.
“In these next 11 games, I said to him he has to try and stay robust and fit and strong and try and rebuild some confidence because I do think his confidence is pretty low at the moment.”
Still developing
There was a jolt of excitement from all parties when Gelhardt secured his loan move to Sunderland in January, considering the club’s youthful and vibrant atmosphere under manager Mowbray and the willingness to help Gelhardt adapt with guaranteed game-time.
However, the striker’s development at the Black Cats has indeed been stunted by having to play in a role different from the one the manager had envisaged.
When Leeds have seen the best of him, the youngster had been strutting his stuff alongside a focal point in Patrick Bamford or Rodrigo, and because of the injury to Stewart – Sunderland’s main and only focal point – Gelhardt hasn’t found the springboard or reference point he needs to thrive.
The 20-year-old isn’t at the physical or technical level to play up front by himself, and that’s shown at Sunderland.
However, it is no fault of his own. The Whites academy graduate must use this situation as a learning curve, which will stand him in good stead for the future.
In other Leeds United news, the club may now face a losing battle to keep their star player at Elland Road beyond the summer transfer window.
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