Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is hoping to beat former employers Liverpool to the signature of Wigan Athletic sensation Joe Gelhardt, according to The Sun (17 May, page 59).
Some of the greatest talents of the modern era owe their careers to the respective managers of Liverpool and Leicester.
Robert Lewandowski, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mario Goetze and more were handed an opportunity to impress by Jurgen Klopp. Rodgers, meanwhile, was the man who provided the platform for Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling, Moussa Dembele, Odsonne Edouard and Kieren Tierney.
So the so-called ‘new Wayne Rooney’ has a difficult decision to make as he weighs up a move between two of the Premier League’s most in-form clubs.
The Sun claims that Liverpool have another teenage talent in their sights in the shape of Wigan striker Gelhardt; an England youth star who has Red blood running through his veins, both literally and metaphorically.
Rodgers, then, may be up against it as he looks to snatch a boyhood Liverpool fan from under the noses of the club who handed him his P45 back in October 2015. The Sun points out that Leicester have been keeping close tabs on Gelhardt, who has produced three goals in 18 games during a breakthrough season at the Championship strugglers.
Blessed with an explosive turn of pace and a fearsome shot from range, not to mention a distinctive Scouse lilt, those comparisons with a fresh-faced Rooney are not a million miles wide of the mark.
“He’s Wayne Rooney-esque, Gelhardt,” Chris Powell, formerly a coach for the England national team, told the EFL on Quest (21 September, 9:00pm). “He’s got a lot of talent.”
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