Preston North End are once again being linked with a move to sign Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt on loan during the January transfer window.
PNE have now managed just three wins in the last 16 Championship games.
Friday night’s 2-1 defeat at Swansea City leaves boss Ryan Lowe fighting for his job amid immense pressure from supporters.
It’s unclear whether Lowe will even be in charge for the transfer window, but we still have another rumour ahead of January.
The Sun’s Alan Nixon reports that PNE have joined Blackburn Rovers in the race to sign Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt.
Hull City are also keen on Gelhardt with Leeds now open to letting Gelhardt leave the club on loan in the January window.
Joe Gelhardt, the story so far
Gelhardt hails from Liverpool and was actually on the books at Liverpool and Everton before heading to Wigan Athletic.
Gelhardt came up in the Wigan ranks and ready started to make an impact in the 2019-20 season, with some PNE fans no doubt remembering an impressive cameo against North End in February 2020.
Leeds United came calling just months later as they signed Gelhardt for just £1million as Wigan’s financial woes worsened.
Gelhardt ended up playing 35 Premier League games for Leeds, scoring two goals.
First-team action has been hard to come by for Gelhardt and he spent the second half of last season on loan at Sunderland, bagging three goals and three assists in 20 games.
Gelhardt has now played just six minutes of league action since the end of August and certainly needs another loan move.
Joe Gelhardt player profile
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 04/05/2002
- Position: Attacker
- Club: Leeds United
- Former clubs: Wigan Athletic, Sunderland
- Nationality: English
Joe Gelhardt, what they say
“I’ve seen that lad since he was 12 years of age, he’s a special talent,” – pundit Jamie Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports Monday Night Football in 2022.
“His intensity, his winning mentality, his range. He has the ice with fire,” – former Leeds director of football Victor Orta, 2022.
“Most of the lads called him Wazza because there were so many similarities in his stature and style. Because he was left-footed, a few others preferred to shout Shaqiri! In front of goal I also thought he had a touch of Jermain Defoe because he could strike the ball so well without a backlift. He wasn’t arrogant but not shy either. He felt he was good enough to start for us every week,” – former Wigan teammate Chey Dunkley, 2021.
“I see it in training every day, he is a wonderful player – really tight with the ball, really strong hips and strong body, he can roll people,” – ex-Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray, 2023.
How Joe Gelhardt fits in
Gelhardt is a versatile attacker who has predominantly played through the middle but can also operate out wide or off the striker.
We can’t see PNE prioritising the signing of a striker in January given the options at Lowe’s disposal.
Will Keane, Milutin Osmajic, Ched Evans and the returning Emil Riis will all be in the mix and adding a fifth doesn’t seem likely with limited funds available for January.
If PNE go for Gelhardt, we would imagine that he is seen as an option to support the strikers or play out wide, offering a natural left-footed option in the final third.
That is something PNE don’t have right now and Gelhardt may offer something different in the final third, but convincing Leeds to send Gelhardt to Deepdale with a seemingly perilous managerial situation may be a little tricky.
PNE have fancied Gelhardt before, allegedly trying to take him on loan back in 2021.
That deal didn’t happen but it could be second time lucky for North End with a January approach possibly in the pipeline.