Leeds may live to regret loaning Joe Gelhardt out

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Joe Gelhardt is one of the brightest young talents on Leeds United’s books.

The 20-year-old attacker may not be a regular starter for the Whites, but he looks absolutely electric every single time he steps onto the pitch, be that off the bench or from the start.

Described as a ‘special’ talent and compared to a young Wayne Rooney, Gelhardt truly looks like a player who was ready to take the Premier League by storm in 2023.

However, it now looks as though he’s not going to get that opportunity.

Indeed, according to The Athletic, Leeds United are now keen to loan Gelhardt out for the second-half of this season, and Wigan Athletic seem to be closing in on a temporary deal.

Now, this is a January move that is bound to be polarising – just look at the Twitter replies to this story to see how it’s divided opinion.

Ever since Gelhardt made his debut, Leeds supporters and pundits have been calling for him to get more of a chance in the first-team, and every single time he’s played, he’s made the case for being a starter even stronger.

There’s not a player in the Premier League who has a better assists-to-minutes ratio than Gelhardt this season, while he’s proven that he can step up in the big moments too.

Last year his last-minute goal against Norwich and his dazzling run that resulted in a penalty against Wolves were two key moments that helped Leeds stay up by the finest or margins.

Now, despite the fact they’re still staring a relegation battle in the face, Leeds are set to loan out one of the players who has proven he can make a difference in these vital situations. It doesn’t make much sense.

Some will argue that Gelhardt needs gametime to make the next step in his career, which is a fair argument, but at the same time, this is a player who has proven he has what it takes to be a key contributor in a relegation battle.

Of course, Leeds will be hoping to be nowhere near the bottom three come the end of the season after making a few decent January signings, but the reality is that their recruitment doesn’t always work out, and if Leeds’ fate, once again, comes down to these fine margins, they will surely regret not having the choice to roll the dice on a player like Gelhardt in key moments where they’re chasing a goal.