Hull City confirm Joe Gelhardt transfer plan as manager speaks out ahead of Leeds United return
Leeds United have decisions to make on heir returning loan stars this summer.
Hull City manager Ruben Selles has reiterated his desire to keep Joe Gelhardt on board but admits ‘a lot of things’ need to be discussed surrounding the Leeds United loanee.
Leeds granted Gelhardt permission to seek regular football elsewhere in January and that certainly came at Hull, where he penned a six-month loan deal before scoring five goals in 20 Championship games. The 23-year-old’s contribution proved pivotal to maintaining second-tier football at the MKM Stadium, with only goal difference keeping his temporary club from the drop after a final-day 1-1 draw at Portsmouth.
Relegation would almost certainly have ended Gelhardt’s Hull career there and then, given the level of Championship interest there was in the striker through January and last summer. But their survival could open the door to a return, an outcome Hull Live reports is desired by those in charge at the MKM Stadium.
Hull do not have any kind of permanent option inserted into Gelhardt’s loan deal, with the young forward due back in West Yorkshire for talks on his future this summer. And while Selles knows there will be plenty of competition, he hopes any further move away from Leeds could prove the catalyst for a return to play for him.
Hull City boss outlines Joe Gelhardt transfer stance as Leeds United loan ends
"I'm not going to go too much on it because everything can happen," Selles told Hull Live when asked about the prospect of Gelhardt’s Humberside return. "I just think that it has been a pleasure for us to have Joe. His way to work has been exceptional.
"His qualities and abilities are exactly what you expect from a player, but also from a person in our environment. I will be happy if he can stay with us for another season, but there are a lot of things that need to be discussed, not only my intention."
Leeds will be expected to initiate future talks with all their current loan exits, with Gelhardt joining Jack Harrison, Sam Greenwood, Darko Gyabi and Charlie Crew in spending at least part of this season away from Elland Road. All are some way off the first-team picture under Daniel Farke and are only likely to fall further down the pecking order once a busy summer of Premier League recruitment gets underway.
But while Selles might want to keep Gelhardt, recent reports suggest he could have little say in the matter as Hull owner Acun Ilicali weighs up whether to make another change in the dugout. EFL journalist Darren Witcoop reported earlier this week the 41-year-old is ‘fighting to keep his job’ despite keeping the Tigers up, while BBC Radio Humberside’s Mike White claimed a change in the dugout was ‘most likely’.
Of particular interest to Gelhardt would be the latter report from White, who adds that Tony Mowbray is being eyed as a possible successor just a few weeks after he was sacked by West Brom. Mowbray signed the young forward on loan from Leeds during his stint as Sunderland boss and has recently spoken highly of his former striker.
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