Former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris has urged Hull City to strike a deal for Leeds United outcast Joe Gelhardt, after the forward helped the Tigers win promotion.
Gelhardt remains with Leeds but has not featured in pre-season and was not included in the Whites’ travelling party in the United States, instead training with the club’s Under-21s while he awaits clarity on his future.
The forward blitzed a goal trail last season, scoring 15 times, including the crucial second goal in the 2-0 play-off semi-final win at Millwall, to set up the final showdown with Middlesbrough at Wembley.
As it stands, City have not moved to bring Gelhardt back to the MKM Stadium this summer, but they could look to strike a deal later in the window, with boss Sergej Jakirovic keen to be reunited with the 24-year-old who has just a year left on his Elland Road contract.
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“Joe Gelhardt will be a priority for Hull City,” Morris told Boylesports. “Whenever you have successful loan players, and you are able to keep them, you should. Joe Gelhardt has played in the Premier League before.
“Making loans successful is something you have to grab with both hands because you already know how the player performs at the club.
“When you sign a new player, you never know if they will hit the ground running. Since he has already performed, I imagine Hull are trying to make him their player permanently.
“It was a surprise to everyone that they managed to get promoted last year, and fair play to the manager and owner for that. They are more up against it than Ipswich and Coventry, but we’ve seen surprises before. Watch this space.”
Gelhardt will have to wait to discover if he can secure his preferred move to City with the club’s owner revealing the Tigers will only make a decision on whether to sign the player once their major recruitment is done.
Acun Ilicali explaining the club’s position over the weekend, telling the BBC; “I cannot say yes or no at the moment, maybe after we finish our major transfers.
“I love Gelhardt, but this is a coach decision. After our coach sees the full squad we will see what the coach decision is. Leeds let us get him two times so if we want to get him again we will have an advantage.
“The problem is if he is not able to get the playing time he will be unhappy. So after our squad is on the table, the coach will decide if he is able to give him playing time or not. Don’t expect something on a Gelhardt decision for at least two weeks.”
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