Joe Roberts

Wed 5 July 2023 12:10, UK

With Daniel Farke’s inevitable appointment as Leeds United manager finally announced, Joe Gelhardt may finally get a real opportunity to crack into first-team football at Elland Road.

Farke is famous for his development of young talent, having done so to great success at Norwich as he transformed the likes of Max Aarons, new Tottenham signing James Maddison and Ben Godfrey.

Phil Hay noted Farke’s excellence in this department, noting in The Athletic: “There is no shortage of players who appreciate the way they were treated and managed by Farke. And at Leeds, he will find no shortage of academy kids begging to be used in the same way.”

While Gelhardt is no academy kid, he is one of the most highly-rated and highly-loved youngsters in Leeds’ ranks.

After a successful loan spell with Sunderland in the Championship last season, the England youth international may finally be able to break his way into the first team after struggling to be picked over the likes of Rodrigo and Luis Sinisterra.

Gelhardt has flirted with first-team action at Leeds before, making 35 appearances in the Premier League over two seasons and knocking in twice in 2021/22, but his contributions were mostly limited to cameos from the bench.

Perhaps relegation to the Championship is what Gelhardt needed to establish himself at Leeds. With all the Premier League-level attacking talent likely to see the exit door of Elland Road, the 21-year-old can finally make an impression.

All the signs are there that Gelhardt can develop into a quality player, and if he performs well in the second division and helps Leeds back into the Premier League, he could be set to be their starting striker.

The youngster can boast some impressive stats too, which would likely be encouraging enough to Farke to develop him. His 0.23 assists per 90 show his ability to create chances and provide for his teammates – he’s more than just a goalscorer [FBRef].

This is also seen in his progressive passes, with 2.55 per 90 placing him in the impressive 88th percentile for this metric showing his influence in helping his team move up the field.

However, his goalscoring is an element of his game that can be improved but due to his relatively limited game time, it would be unfair to criticise him on this basis. A good run of games would likely see this stat improve.

Gelhardt has become something of a Leeds fan-favourite and has spoken very passionately about the club and the fanbase. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “When Elland Road is really rocking, I can’t think of a better atmosphere. Anfield is good on Champions League nights, but in terms of what I’ve played in, nothing beats Elland Road.

“I just want to pay the fans back for all the support they have shown us.”

Mentality and passion may be his finest attribute and that will not go unnoticed by Leeds fans. But perhaps even more importantly it won’t go unnoticed by his new boss.

In other Leeds United news, Jose Mourinho targets full-back to join him at Roma.