Inside Elland Road: Can Leeds Utd fans hold their nerve?
Leeds United loan exit Joe Gelhardt is enjoying life in the Championship with Hull City.
In-form Leeds United loan exit Joe Gelhardt has been compared to an Arsenal Invincible by Hull City boss Sergej Jakirović.
Gelhardt is leading Hull’s somewhat surprising push for the Championship play-offs in what is his second loan move from Leeds to the MKM Stadium. The 23-year-old already has seven goals and two assists from 15 appearances, thanks to a current purple patch of five strikes in six.
The latest of those goals proved a quite incredible winner last weekend as Hull beat Portsmouth 3-2, with Gelhardt plucking a long, raking ball out the air before dinking a lovely finish over Pompey goalkeeper Josef Bursik. The effort drew comparisons with Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp and Jakirović seems to agree.
“Gelhardt is more of a winger than a centre forward,” Jakirović told Croatian outlet Jutarnji in the days after that sublime winner. “I won’t go into the reasons why Leeds gave him up, but I had more than enough information about him before I came to Hull. Gelhardt knows how to score goals, without any exaggeration, in the style of the legendary Dennis Bergkamp.”
Comparisons to Bergkamp are evidence of just how well Gelhardt is playing, with the former Arsenal striker considered one of the most technically gifted forwards of his time. During an 11-year spell at Highbury, the Dutchman scored 152 goals in 44 games across all competitions, many of them beautiful to watch., and won three Premier League titles including as part of the 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ squad.
Joe Gelhardt is in the form of his life at Hull City
While he is still some way off Bergkamp's record, last weekend’s goal against Portsmouth was just the latest in a series of brilliant finishes from Gelhardt, who is truly flourishing on loan at Hull. The Liverpudlian was keen to return to the Tigers after playing and scoring regularly during the second half of last season and has gone from strength to strength under Jakirović.
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Gelhardt had shown moments of magic during his time as a Premier League player with Leeds but rarely got the minutes he needed, with the need to survive more pressing than the desire to develop youth. Following relegation, the demand for promotion was instant and regular football remained hard to come by under Daniel Farke.
Upon joining Hull on a six-month loan in January, Gelhardt outlined his desire to play regularly and improve at still such a young age, which happened under Ruben Selles. And it was made clear over the summer that Leeds’ young forward wanted to return to the MKM Stadium and continue showing his ability.
“It feels amazing. I made it clear I wanted to come back here. I loved my time here last year – everyone was so welcoming and friendly," Gelhardt said in the summer. The people here, the city, the fans – everything about last season was just the perfect match. I was probably the happiest I’ve been in my football career during the last few months I spent here last year."
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