Lee Chapman has told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he wants to see Jesse Marsch utilise Joe Gelhardt alongside Patrick Bamford after the Leeds United striker returned from injury.
Marsch replaced Marcelo Bielsa at the Elland Road helm last week as the Whites bid to stay in the Premier League. But the American was unable to get his tenure off to the ideal start as Leicester City edged the Whites 1-0 at the King Power Stadium on Saturday in his debut.
Leeds produced a valiant effort in the East Midlands, only for Harvey Barnes to undo their good work after 67-minutes. The winger hit home with one of the Foxes’ rare forays into a dangerous area after a one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho opened space for a hit across goal.
The Leicester defeat leaves Leeds 16th in the Premier League table with a two-point gap to the relegation zone. They have also played twice more than Everton in 17th and once more than 18th-place Burnley. While United also have the league’s second-worst goal difference.
Chapman urges Marsch to try possible ‘great pairing’ of Gelhardt with Bamford
Marsch opted to utilise Bielsa’s £25m summer signing Dan James at striker in his first game as Leeds manager. The Welsh winger had played sporadically in the role under Bielsa this season, as well, with Bamford featuring for just 22 top-flight minutes since September.
Bamford suffered an ankle injury at Newcastle in September, before picking up a hamstring problem while celebrating scoring on his return against Brentford in December. His issues continued in January, too, after developing a foot gripe from which he has just returned.
Bamford returned to training last week and Marsch included him on Leeds’ bench away to Leicester. So, Chapman now hopes Marsch considers deploying Bamford with Gelhardt in the Leeds attack, as the possible two-man attacking partnership offers a lot of potential.
“I’d really like to see Gelhardt play alongside Bamford, when he comes back, because I think the two of them could make a really great pairing,” Chapman said. “Bamford and Gelhardt could become quite a combination.”
Marsch can try something Bielsa never did at Leeds with Gelhardt and Bamford
Bielsa never tried Gelhardt and Bamford together in a two-man attack during his tenure as Leeds boss. The Argentine only included Gelhardt on the bench 11 times in all competitions when in the same squad as Bamford. Gelhardt also only debuted after Bamford’s first issue.
Bielsa gave Gelhardt his bow in the Carabao Cup in September and his Premier League debut in October. The 19-year-old has since made 13 first-team appearances, but has only started two while scoring one goal and offering three assists across all competitions so far.
Gelhardt scored his only senior goal to date in December away to Chelsea during an eight-minute cameo under Bielsa. He impressed Chapman considerably at Stamford Bridge, with the Leeds hero full of praise for the £1m former Wigan Athletic prospect Bielsa signed.
“He’s got energy, he’s buzzing around, he’s got pace and he scored an absolutely brilliant goal,” Chapman said. “An instinctive goal, a striker’s goal. It was a fantastic finish.
“He’s only 19. He reminds me of Wayne Rooney; he’s not the biggest player in the world but he puts himself around, he’s not scared of big centre-halves and he has a go at them. He’s got that energy that’s going to trouble defenders.”
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