Hull City director shares ‘most important’ factor behind Joe Gelhardt and Leeds United transfer
Hull City would love to sign Joe Gelhardt this summer but that may depend on Leeds United’s chances of staying in the Premier League.
That is according to Hull sporting director, Jared Dublin, who made it clear that they want to sign the striker permanently when his Leeds deal heads into its final 12 months this summer.
Gelhardt hasn’t had much of a look-in at Elland Road in recent years, with the 23-year-old spending the second half of last season and all of this term on loan at the Tigers.
While he was largely overlooked by Daniel Farke at Leeds, Hull have allowed him to regain his confidence, with Gelhardt chalking up 15 goal contributions in 26 Championship games.
As Hull chase promotion to the Premier League, it has become clearer what factors hinge on a permanent deal.
Joe Gelhardt transfer hinges on Leeds United’s Premier League status
Last season, Gelhardt played his part in keeping Hull in the Championship with five goals in 20 appearances in the second half of the campaign.
This term, the former Wigan Athletic youngster is firing their charge towards the Premier League, with Hull just six points outside the automatic promotion spots in fourth.
As Hull target a surprise promotion, director Dublin has lifted the lid on what may stand in the way of signing Gelhardt – whose Leeds contract runs until 2027.
He told told Hull Live: “Division being probably the most important, and with Joffy (Gelhardt) in particular, 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 chairman, the gaffer, Joffy knows how much we love him, how much we value him, how much we would love for him to continue his Hull City story. That’s case closed on that one. We’ll see what happens.”
He added: “We want to get to the stage where we have continuity in the group. We’re not just a revolving door of players in and out and trying to find chemistry and trying to find relationships, hopefully bringing some back as we did with Joffy would help, whether that’s permanent or a loan, we’ll see come [the] summer.”
For the time being, Leeds are six points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone. If they stay up, a Gelhardt exit is very likely. But if they go back down, they may want to retain a forward who has recaptured his former swagger.
The fall and rise of Gelhardt
In the summer of 2022, former Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear uttered some now-infamous words about the club’s striker situation. He felt that the attackers of Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, and young Gelhardt would keep them in the Premier League.
In his programme notes, he wrote: “The rationale is straightforward. We believe we have three striking options that are better than the majority of our peers (two proven international number nines [Bamford and Rodrigo] and a player widely regarded as the best emerging young striking talent [Gelhardt] in the league) and will only supplement this with an exceptional addition rather than a warm body.”
Around 10 months later, Kinnear was proven wrong as Leeds tumbled back to the Championship.
The promise Gelhardt had shown in his breakout season in 2021-22 was not replicated the following campaign. And it has been a slow and sad decline at Leeds for him ever since.
| Joe Gelhardt’s Leeds numbers | Goals/games |
| Leeds (2020-25) | 3 in 57 games |
| Hull (2025-26) | 16 in 48 games |
But at Hull, he is showing the form that convinced Leeds to sign him in the first place, along with Kinnear’s high praise.
It seems a parting of the ways may be best for both parties as Gelhardt enters a new, exciting phase of his career.
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