At the end of last month, when it became clear that Wolves striker Fabio Silva was available on loan, Scottish Premiership contenders Celtic and Rangers battled it out for the signing. While it’s the Hoops who are top of the table of the moment, the Gers prevailed in this particular scrap, securing the services of Silva on loan until the end of the season.
However, attention at Parkhead now seems to have turned to another young striker, this time 21-year-old Leeds ace Joe Gelhardt. Gelhardt joined Leeds from Wigan in 2020, and spent the second half of last season on loan in the Championship with Sunderland.
He’s only made six second-tier appearances for the relegated Whites this season, with just two coming from the start. Partly due to injury, he’s been limited to a solitary league outing for Daniel Farke’s side since mid-September.
Celtic and Rangers fight for Gelhardt
Now, a report from The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones reveals that Celtic and Rangers are showing “interest” in Gelhardt, potentially setting up a repeat of their Silva duel. It’s unclear in the story whether the two clubs are eyeing a loan deal or a permanent move, but it should be noted either way that Gelhardt is under contract at Elland Road until the summer of 2027.
Leeds have previously told Gelhardt that he’ll be staying put, with Farke unwilling to sanction even a temporary exit, but it remains to be seen whether that stance changes. Logic dictates that a young player struggling for minutes would benefit from regular first-team action elsewhere.
Gelhardt can strike fear into SPL defences
Former Leeds player Noel Whelan says Gelhardt possesses “something special” and “scares defenders”, and he’s been showing that since his days in the youth ranks. The Englishman bagged in 18 goals in 27 appearances at Premier League 2 level before graduating to senior football.
While he inevitably hasn’t been quite as explosive in the men’s game just yet, his numbers are still respectable. Last season, for instance, he provided six direct goal contributions in 18 league appearances for Sunderland, an average of one every 202 minutes, even though he was playing through injury, according to director Kristjaan Speakman.
In 2021/22, his last full season playing in the Premier League, he scored twice and set-up four more at an even better rate of a goal or assist every 122 minutes. This suggests he’s a player who can come up with big moments over the course of the season even when he’s occupying a reserve role.
At first, he’d be best suited to serving as an understudy for Kyogo Furuhashi, who’s Brendan Rodgers’ joint-top scorer right now with 10 goals, but maybe if he impressed in a loan spell, Celtic could think about trying to sign permanently and extract the full potential of a player who’s previously been called up to England’s under-21 side.
Still, they mustn’t get ahead of themselves. The first job is to convince Leeds to make him available, and the second is to persuade him to pick green and white over blue.
