A former Leeds United player and now pundit thinks one £15,000-a-week ace could look to leave Elland Road “as soon as he can”.
Leeds injury latest after Sunderland draw
The Whites and Daniel Farke are currently managing a Leeds injury crisis during the international break, with a number of players on the Thorp Arch treatment table.
Midfielders Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev both suffered serious knee injuries that will keep them out for months against Coventry City and Norwich City respectively, which led to Farke relying on Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell in the 2-2 Championship draw with Sunderland.
Decision already made as Farke makes Meslier call for Leeds v Sheffield Utd
Daniel Farke has already made his decision on whether one Leeds player will start against the Blades or not.
ByBrett WorthingtonOct 9, 2024
Manor Solomon has been out with back and hamstring issues and hasn’t gone away with Israel as a result, whereas Leeds could welcome back Daniel James for their clash against Sheffield United.
Elsewhere, Max Wober is also sidelined for six weeks and has required surgery on a knee problem, leaving Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon as the only available centre-backs.
A shortage of defenders and midfielders isn’t ideal heading into a busy few months, but one player who hasn’t featured regularly is attacker Joe Gelhardt. The 22-year-old, who joined from Wigan Athletic in 2020 and showed early promise in the Premier League, has made just three appearances in all competitions in 2024/25, with his only start coming in the EFL Cup.
David Norris makes Leeds exit claim on Joe Gelhardt
Talking to MOT Leeds News recently, former midfielder David Norris feels that Gelhardt could leave Leeds in the near future and believes he may have “had enough” after struggling for game time.
“I think it’s the right time now for Gelhardt to move on as soon as he can. It’s been a couple of years now of inconsistent football for him, and you get the feeling maybe that he’s had enough and isn’t invested anymore.
“I feel for him as he did well in parts in the Premier League, but now he’s at the age when you want to be playing consistently and he’s not going to get enough game time at Leeds.”
Farke recently answered a question on some of his Leeds players, including £15,000-a-week Gelhardt, not getting much game time, believing they may ‘want to bite him in his neck’.
“In general, it’s one of the most difficult parts of your job because, I mentioned several times, each and every player wants to play each and every second on the pitch and you’re just allowed to start 11 players.
“Quite often we change during the game, mostly even five times, sometimes a bit less, but mostly you are at least allowed to change five times.
“It means you have just six players who play now each and every second and, I spoke about this, from the six players, sometimes one or two feel they play in the wrong position or they’re criticised too much. [It means] you just have two or three players within the squad who are 100 per cent happy with you and all the other 23, 25 players in the squad are between ‘Yeah, the manager’s okay’ or ‘I want to bite him in his neck.’”
Gelhardt’s contract expires in 2027, so Leeds may look at a potential loan or permanent exit in 2025 if his lack of game time continues.