In collaboration with Goal, Voetbalzone regularly highlights young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time the focus is on nineteen-year-old attacker Joe Gelhardt, who made his first minutes of play in the main squad of Leeds United in September. The talent is compared to Wayne Rooney because of his impressive physique and patent on spectacular hits and is now on the verge of breaking through.
It’s September 19, 2021 and Leeds Under-23 are playing an away game against their Liverpool peers. There is less than fifteen minutes on the clock when Gelhardt is played in the center circle after a quick conquest of the ball from a teammate. The youngster does not change his mind and outwits Marcelo Pitaluga, the goalkeeper of the Reds who is a little too far in front of his goal, with a shot from about 45 meters. After more than an hour of play, the goal machine is hit again and again the goal is to be framed. Gelhardt shakes off his direct opponent and then chases the ball hard from thirty meters with his beloved left leg into the intersection behind the hopeless Pitaluga.
They are the kind of wonder goals that regularly pop up on social media, but for those who have been following Gelhardt for a while, these were just the latest in a long line of great hits. It is yet another proof that Leeds has gold in their hands with the 19-year-old, who can handle various positions in the attack. Despite his double win against Liverpool Under-23, Gelhardt himself was not completely satisfied. The attacker would have liked to take the match ball home, but missed a penalty after the break. Two days later, he got the chance to make up for his mistake. Gelhard was already eight times on the bench with the first team during Premier League games last season, but was still waiting for his first minutes of play for the Whites. In the third round of the League Cup against Fulham, trainer Marcelo Bielsa finally awarded the teenager his long-awaited debut.
The cup match at Craven Cottage had no winner after ninety minutes of play. Gelhardt took the sixth penalty from the visitors during a nerve-racking penalty shootout. His family in Merseyside was at home with the tension, but this turned out to be unnecessary. The talent shot flawlessly from eleven yards with the necessary conviction and Leeds eventually made it to the next round of the cup, which includes a meeting with Arsenal. Gelhardt also hopes against on October 26th the Gunners make an important contribution and thus extend the Leeds cup adventure.
Despite the fact that Bielsa has tested the patience of his pupil enormously, he is very enthusiastic about Gelhardt. “He is a player who always creates danger in a match,” assures the Argentinian, who has been taking care of the A-selection since the summer of 2018. “He’s a player who focuses more on finishing chances than creating them, but he has a lot of opportunities to hurt an opponent and he has a great kick in his legs, his finishing is of a high standard.” The debut in the cup tournament leaves you wanting more. The attacker is also certainly part of Bielsa’s plans with the first team. This season, the youngster has made three league appearances in Leeds’ squad and his Premier League debut seems only a matter of time.
?? Fulham fans: “Who are ya?” ?? Joe Gelhardt: “That’s who!” pic.twitter.com/3w0cAcB852
— Leeds United (@LUFC) September 22, 2021
Gelhardt has been knocking on the door at Leeds for some time now. After coming over from Wigan Athletic for up to €1.9 million in the summer of 2020, the Liverpool-born footballer has gone through a clear development, which is also physically visible. “I have lost eight kilos,” the attacker told the in June Yorkshire Evening Post. “A photo appeared on social media when I signed, and one with a cup, which I won with Leeds Under-23. You can see the difference. When I came in here I didn’t have much knowledge about nutrition or fitness so I learned a lot. At Wigan I was able to run eight or a maximum of nine kilometers per race with my fitness. I think my average last season with our U23 team was around 10 or 10.5 kilometers per game.”
Bielsa’s intense training regimen, including the infamous midweek murder ballsessions, means no player can hide. Due to the dominant game the Argentinian likes to play, fitness is all about fitness and Gelhardt’s family have noticed a difference with the youngster since his move to West Yorkshire. They indicate that he has never been tall, but has always been strong and now he has become stronger, leaner, faster and sharper. According to them, the goal-getter looks like a Premier League footballer. It won’t be long before he is officially. Gelhardt is currently still the star of the Under-23s, with 17 goals in 22 appearances for the U23 squad since the start of last season.
His family knew from a young age that they were dealing with a talent. His uncle, who is also called Joe, remembers noticing Gelhardt’s ability with his left foot when he was eight or nine months old, when he tossed him a rolled-up pair of socks in his baby seat. Uncle Joe is also the one responsible for his nickname, ‘Joffy’. The movie “Coming to America” was his favorite as a child, and that’s how young Joe got the pet name. Even his teachers, first at Netherton Moss primary school, later at St Ambrose Barlow and Chesterfield High, called him ‘Joffy’.
Gelhardt grew up as a Liverpool supporter and was especially a fan of Fernando Torres. The Reds had the chance to sign him twice, in the early stages of the youth academy and as an Under 10 player, but both times they ended up letting him down. Gelhardt will always be a fan, but like his housemate Sean McGurk (another player who took Leeds from Wigan), he enjoys beating Liverpool more than any other side. As a youth player, he spent time at Everton and Tranmere Rovers, but it was Wigan who eventually signed him. Kenny Williams, the club’s head of the academy, championed Gelhardt’s arrival, having seen him score a hat-trick as a ten-year-old against the Latics for the local Navy team.
Gelhardt scored another hat-trick, this time against Liverpool, during a six-week trial for Wigan and his progression has been steady after that. He was often compared to Wayne Rooney for his impressive physique and his patent on spectacular goals. “He never failed to influence a match,” said Nick Chadwick, his former Wigan youth academy coach. “He was a dream to manage.” Gelhardt was part of a talented Wigan Under-18, who won the 2019 EFL Youth Alliance League title, as well as the Lancashire FA Youth Cup.
Wigan ran into financial problems, giving Gelhardt a chance in the first team in August 2019. In the Championship, he came on as a substitute in the second half against Barnsley. A game later, the teenager scored his first professional goal against Hull City. Gelhardt would appear on the field 17 more times that season, including a few times as a starting player, but by the end of the season it was clear that he had to be sold to get the finances in order. The attacker didn’t really want to leave, but he knew Wigan needed transfer money.
Leicester City showed concrete interest, but Leeds was the club that persevered. Victor Orta, director of football affairs, played a major role in the deal. He presented an extensive video analysis, in which Gelhardt showed exactly how and where he would fit into Bielsa’s squad. The compensation for the attacker was initially 825,000 euros. Via bonuses, the transfer fee can rise to almost 1.9 million euros. With Gelhardt earning his first England Under-21 call-up in early October and getting close to the Leeds first team, Wigan can expect even more earnings in the months and years to come.
Anthony Barry was Gelhardt’s first-team coach at Wigan and is now part of Thomas Tuchel’s staff at Chelsea. The coach is full of praise for his former pupil. “Joffy has the potential to be a very special player,” Barry tells Goal. “He has the ability to decide games and be relentless in the big moments, something not many young players can do. In addition, he is a great boy who loves football. When you have that enthusiasm and are that hungry, normally you as a player find a way to be successful.”