Manager addresses Wayne Rooney 'burden' Leeds United loanee has shaken off to flourish at new club
Leeds United’s on-loan forward Joe Gelhardt has been excellent since joining Hull City.
West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Mowbray is happy to see his former on-loan Sunderland forward Joe Gelhardt flourishing during his latest loan spell away from Leeds United.
Gelhardt joined Hull City on a six-month loan deal in January, having once again found football hard to come by at Leeds this season. The forward played just 10 Championship minutes for his parent club and was often left out of the matchday squad entirely, with a temporary switch beneficial for all parties.
Regular football was the goal for Gelhardt and regular football is what he’s got at Hull, with 11 league starts already comfortably more than the two he managed across the previous 18 months at Leeds. Those starts have also brought goals, three to be exact, with the 22-year-old impressing again as Hull drew 1-1 at play-off hopefuls West Brom last weekend.
Mowbray on Gelhardt
Mowbray is now in charge at West Brom but was previously head coach at Sunderland, where he signed Gelhardt on loan from Leeds in a move that for multiple reasons, didn’t work as well as anyone hoped. But the experienced coach is happy to see his former player flourishing elsewhere, even if Hull cost his side two points in the top-six race.
"He's a lovely lad, a lovely kid who loves football, wants to improve, and wants to get better," Mowbray told Hull Live of Gelhardt. "I think there was a big burden on him, wasn't there? A lot of people thought he was the next Wayne Rooney coming through at Wigan and then going to Leeds.
“But a nice lad, I found that he would listen, was intelligent, wanted to please. Watching the recent games, he seems to be in a big plus for your team. He wasn't wow, but he was OK. I thought his team performance was solid, but I like 'Joffy'.”
Will Hull sign Gelhardt permanently?
While Gelhardt’s move away from Elland Road is a temporary one, it’s difficult to see a place for him in the Leeds squad if promotion is achieved this season and so a permanent exit remains possible. The former Wigan Athletic youngster is clearly enjoying his time at Hull, who appear keen to make him their player long term.
Tigers boss Ruben Selles has regularly spoken of his desire to sign Gelhardt permanently, albeit such talks won’t take place until both Hull and Leeds’ fate for next season has been confirmed. Hull Live reported earlier this month that there is a desire to seal permanent terms.
Asked whether talks over a permanent switch have got underway, Selles recently told Hull Live: “No. My future is tomorrow. I cannot even think about the next couple of months. He's doing well for us but first we need to finish the job (stay in the league), and then we can talk about it.
"He's playing regularly, he loves football, and he loves to play with his teammates. He has a couple of players with whom he already has a good relationship, so those two points are massive, and that's what I think.”
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