The Tigers would love to make his move permanent in the summer
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
05:00, 03 Apr 2026
Joe Gelhardt has bagged 13 goals for City so far this term
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Joe Gelhardt has bagged 13 goals for City so far this term(Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Joe Gelhardt says he wouldn't hesitate to commit his future to Hull City beyond this summer, which will come as a boost ahead of the final seven games with the Tigers gunning for promotion to the Premier League.
The Leeds United loanee is on loan at the MKM Stadium and is enjoying a fine season, with 13 goals and six assists to help Sergej Jakirovic's men sit firmly in the race for a place in the top flight.
It’s his second spell at City, having initially joined the club in January last year and playing his part in keeping the club in the Championship, before pushing for a move back to the MKM Stadium in the summer.
City owner Acun Ilicali told Hull Live at Christmas how much he’d love to sign the 23-year-old this summer, irrespective of what league the Tigers find themselves in, and that desire was reiterated by sporting director Jared Dublin earlier this year.
Gelhardt has a year left on his Elland Road contract but is not expected to be in Daniel Farke’s plans next season, and City want to explore a deal, be that another loan or permanent, with the forward admitting he's loving his time in East Yorkshire.
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"I've loved every minute of it again," Gelhardt told Hull Live. "Last season, I loved it here, even though times were quite difficult. I think I made the correct decision coming back. It has been the best season, so far in my career, and I've found my best form. So it was the right decision, and I'm buzzing with that."
Some observers scoffed at the likes of Gelhardt, Oli McBurnie and John Lundstram opting to join City in the summer, but the Liverpudlian says the club's promotion push this season proves what a good decision it was.
"I just loved it, I loved it last season," he explained. "I love the lads, the staff and the fans, so yeah, why not come back? I'm made up that I made that decision to come back here. I just love it here.
"When I joined, I think I was one of the later ones to join, weren't I? The players that they brought in, I saw the ambition of the club. Since I went back to Leeds in pre-season, I knew that once I weren't in their plans, I wanted to come back here. Over the summer, I knew I wanted to come back here, so once that was confirmed (future at Elland Road), it made it a bit easier to come back here."
With Leeds plotting their own course to Premier League survival under Farke, Gelhardt says there hasn't been any communication from his parent club as to what the future may, or may not, look like beyond the end of the season.
"I haven't spoken to anyone from Leeds since the start of the season," he explained. "I don't know if my agent has. He hasn't told me if he has. I'm sure the clubs speak, I'm sure they have to, but yeah, not from my side, I think they've just let me focus on playing, which I don't mind, to be fair. That's my job, isn't it, so that's all I'm here to do."
Gelhardt has become a firm favourite on the terraces at the MKM Stadium, and he admits that feeling the love of the supporters and those who run the club is something he's not been overly familiar with.
"It's amazing," he continued. "I haven't had that much in my career, so it's nice to hear and especially at a club where I love being at so much as well, it's nice to hear."
Whether City can strike a deal in the summer will depend on many factors, but Gelhardt says his love for the club means he would not hesitate to pen a deal if one can be struck with the Whites.
"It'd be stupid to say no because I've played my best year of football here; it's obviously more difficult than just making a decision, but yeah, pretty much.
"Yeah, at the minute, yeah," he said when asked if he'd sign a contract now. "I'm enjoying it that much, yeah, I love playing for this club. Nothing's certain in football, and things change, but we can only take it game by game. I think everyone knows how much I love it here.
"In football, you're never certain, so many things can happen so quickly. As footballers, you've got to get used to the unknown, and I definitely am. I've been on two loan spells now, from January, when I was at Sunderland, and here last year, and then coming back here in the summer, I've got used to moving. At the start of that season, when I went to Sunderland, and last year, I didn't know where I was gonna be, so things happen quickly, and let's see what happens."
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You can listen to the full interview with Joe Gelhardt right here
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