Joe Gelhardt to exit Leeds United as QPR transfer update emerges
Queens Park Rangers have joined the race to sign Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt, Football League World reports.
According to the news outlet’s website [11 December], Gelhardt is heading towards a seemingly “inevitable” Elland Road exit in January, with QPR now joining Rangers in the list of interested parties.
The 22-year-old will have plenty of options to choose from for his next loan destination, with fellow Championship outfits Stoke City, Portsmouth, Preston North End and Plymouth Argyle interested in acquiring his services alongside Belgian Pro League sides [Yorkshire Evening Post].
Joe Gelhardt will leave Leeds United in January
MOT Leeds News exclusively revealed on 6 November that Gelhardt has become frustrated with his lack of game time at Elland Road and would welcome a temporary exit in January.
The Whites would prefer to sanction a permanent sale for the forward but understand a loan move is more likely and would benefit all parties. Indeed, a successful move could leave Angus Kinnear in a healthy position to demand a sizeable fee in the summer.
Gelhardt has been resigned to only two Championship appearances for Leeds this year and is firmly at the back of the pecking order at Elland Road.
Farke has regularly shared the duties of leading the frontline among Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph with mixed success and can also rely on Patrick Bamford when necessary, despite the Englishman also being left out in the cold in West Yorkshire.
Despite Piroe and Joseph failing to find the back of the net consistently, Gelhardt has still struggled to get a look into the first-team frame, and it is abundantly clear that his long-term future lies away from Leeds.
However, the Whites will have no trouble moving the forward on, with a host of clubs interested in acquiring his services until the end of the season – the curtain is closing on his time at Elland Road.
In other Leeds news, Danny Mills was stunned by what he saw Jonathan Woodgate tell Michael Carrick in the Whites clash against Middlesbrough.
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