'Case closed' - Club chief makes transfer stance on 11-goal Leeds United star perfectly clear
Joe Gelhardt is currently set to return to Leeds United this summer.
Hull City sporting director Jared Dublin has reiterated his desire to sign on-loan Leeds United star Joe Gelhardt permanently this summer.
Gelhardt notched his 11th Championship goal of the season on Saturday as Hull lost 3-1 at home to Queens Park Rangers. The close-range finish was his first since returning from a hamstring injury in late January in what MKM Stadium chiefs will hope signals a return to his autumn form.
The 23-year-old scored an impressive eight goals in 10 Championship games between October and December. That was enough for some sections of the Leeds fanbase to suggest a January recall, for which there was a clause that Elland Road chiefs decided against triggering.
Currently on loan, Gelhardt is set to return to Leeds in the summer and remains contracted to the Whites until 2027. But having been open to a sale last year, the Whites will be expected to entertain offers so long as they avoid Premier League relegation.
Leeds had hoped to receive between £3-4million for Gelhardt last summer but after a double-figure campaign in the Championship, that number could easily rise. Whether loan club Hull can match those increasing demands remains to be seen but the desire to do so is clearly there.
Hull City chief on Joe Gelhardt permanent transfer hope
“Division [is] probably the most important, and with Joffy in particular, where Leeds are, should they maintain Premier League status or come down, so there's loads of moving parts,” Tigers transfer chief Dublin told Hull Live. "On the Joffy one, it's very clear.
“I've been very vocal, the chairman, the gaffer, Joffy knows how much we love him, how much we value him, how much we would love for him to continue his Hull City story. That's case closed on that one. We'll see what happens.
"We want to get to the stage where we have continuity in the group. We're not just a revolving door of players in and out and trying to find chemistry and trying to find relationships, hopefully bringing some back as we did with Joffy would help, whether that's permanent or a loan, we'll see come summer."
Gelhardt has regularly spoken of his enjoyment being at Hull and pushed for a return to the MKM Stadium last summer, having initially joined on a six-month loan in January 2025. The Tigers were under a transfer embargo preventing them from paying any kind of fee ahead of the current season, making a loan the only route back to East Yorkshire.
Should Leeds maintain their Premier League status this season, they are expected to strengthen across the positions Gelhardt can play which makes a permanent move more likely. The 23-year-old is also likely to generate a good profit on the £1m fee Wigan received back in 2020.
Relegation would pose a more complex question, however, with Gelhardt becoming a proven Championship entity this season. His status within the squad would depend on who leaves Elland Road in the summer, albeit survival is looking increasingly likely.