Exclusive:Leeds United hero delivers verdict on future of Joe Gelhardt amid rapid growth at Hull City
Leeds United hero Jermaine Beckford has been impressed by Joe Gelhardt’s growth at Hull City - but does not think he has a future at Elland Road.
The 23-year-old has found opportunities increasingly limited in recent years but has been given a new lease of life elsewhere in Yorkshire.
He is currently enjoying his second loan spell at Hull City, for whom he has become a key figure.
This season, the versatile attacker has registered 11 goals and four assists across 28 appearances in the Championship.
Hull have made it clear they want to sign ‘Joffy’ on a permanent basis, although he is still under contract at Leeds until 2027.
Beckford, who represented the Whites between 2006 and 2010, has been keeping a close eye on Gelhardt’s development.
Verdict on Joe Gelhardt’s future
Despite being impressed, he feels the former England youth international will be better off developing away from LS11.
He told The Yorkshire Post: “I’ve been keeping tabs on him and he’s playing with such freedom, such confidence.
“He’s smiling when he’s playing. He understands a lot more now. I mentioned a little while ago about where forward players should be ending up in the final phase of play. Joe’s starting to understand that.
“He’s got himself quite a few good goals this season, he’s starting to knit things together. He’s not only getting on the scoresheet, but he’s understanding much more about positional sense.
“In terms of Leeds potentially making a mistake letting him go out on loan, I don’t think it’s a mistake. Do I think he’ll go back to Leeds? No, I don’t.
“For him on a personal level, he needs to be in a team that is built around him. Hull City, currently, are a team built around him. They work really well together - synergistically very well together.”
Joe Gelhardt’s struggle for minutes at Leeds United
Gelhardt cut his teeth in Wigan Athletic’s academy and burst on to the senior scene as a teenager.
Leeds pounced in the summer of 2020, taking advantage of Wigan’s financial troubles to snap up one of their most coveted assets.
He looked promising during early cameos in the Premier League but establishing himself as a starter proved tricky.
Since Daniel Farke’s appointment as Leeds manager in 2023, Gelhardt has made just 16 appearances for the club.
Beckford said: “I think the reason Joe went out on loan initially is because the way Daniel Farke sets his team up, it didn’t quite suit Joe and the position he plays in.
”Keeping him at Elland Road, at Thorp Arch, just training and not gaining any experience, would have been a waste.
“It would have been detrimental to Leeds in terms of the transfer value of Joe Gelhardt. It would have been detrimental to Joe Gelhardt in terms of his personal development.
“I do think the loan spell, the first one at Sunderland and this one at Hull, are hugely beneficial to Joe.
“With all due respect, I think he could be playing at a level higher than Hull City. I would like to see him test himself at a higher level.”