Sport

Breaking; Leeds United Deal Of £1m Asset Slate Into Problem As Rooney Struggle

Published

12 months ago

September 29, 2023

Silas

Daniel Farke, the new manager of Leeds United, has given both those who participated in last season’s disastrous relegation and those who had previously been kicked out by the German’s predecessor, Jesse Marsch, a fresh start.

Daniel James, a Wales international recruited by Marcelo Bielsa back in 2021, is one of those who fits into the latter type. Daniel James took use of his opportunity after being sent out on loan to Fulham last season.

Following what was a difficult year at Craven Cottage for the 25-year-old as he made just 23 appearances in all competitions, the wing wizard now looks to be fit and firing again on the flanks at Elland Road, having already racked up four assists from just six Championship appearances this season.

It has also been a welcome return to Yorkshire for academy graduate, Jamie Shackleton, with the versatile asset – who can operate in midfield or at full-back – also making six league appearances this season after spending the 2022/23 campaign at Millwall, alongside promising youngster, Charlie Cresswell.

Leeds is once again playing in the second division, giving players like Shackleton, Cresswell, and James the chance to excel under promotion guru Farke. These three players are certainly eager to disprove Marsch by succeeding under the new leadership.

Despite those early-season successes, not all of the returning loanees have yet made an impact, with “Mini Messi” Ian Poveda and previously praised wonderkid Joe Gelhardt both playing supporting roles.

How much did Leeds pay for Joe Gelhardt?

Although currently on the periphery back at Leeds, the England youth international had looked to be a real star of the future when he originally burst onto the scene at Wigan Athletic, ultimately making 21 appearances for the club in his teenage years.

The explosive attacker was praised by former manager Paul Cook during the Latics emergence in 2019, and the current Chesterfield head coach highlighted the youngster’s very exciting potential after scoring his first senior goal against Hull City:

He has the special ability to find room in a phone box. He plays football so naturally and well. It was a special occasion for him to score that goal in front of his own supporters.

“A lot of the new football players are not particularly pleasant individuals. The game comes naturally to him, so we’re blessed to have him playing for us. If he continues in that manner, he will start shortly. He is a young boy who requires supervision, nevertheless.

Due to his early success, the 5 foot 9 marksman attracted the interest of both Liverpool and Everton before being signed by Marcelo Bielsa and company for a rumored sum of just £1 million.

Rooney to stay with United - Eurosport

What rumors circulated when Gelhardt joined Leeds?
It had seemed like Leeds had pulled off a great coup to be able to recruit the Liverpool-born starlet on the cheap after Cook praised the then-teenager as a player who may have a “really bright future” in the game.

The expectancy surrounding the in-demand ace was only heightened by comparisons to compatriot, Wayne Rooney due to the Merseyside connection, with former youth coach Tim Wyatt having previously stated:

“Very few players stand out at 14. Steven Gerrard did in my first season, Rooney and certainly Joe. I remember him turning up for our trial looking Rooneyesque. He scored three in 10 minutes on a cold and rainy night so I said he could go home to keep warm because he’d already made the team.”

To be in such esteemed company is high praise indeed, with Rooney – who remains the leading goalscorer in Manchester United’s history – notably one of the most iconic figures of the modern era and a player who burst onto the scene at the age of just 16 at Everton.

Gelhardt, who spent the majority of his first season at Elland Road in the youth levels, was once more making headlines after earning his maiden top-flight start in November 2021. At the time, pundit Jamie Redknapp praised him as a “human wrecking ball” and called him a “human wrecking ball.”

However, it is reasonable to say that since that positive start to life in the first squad, things for the 21-year-old have not exactly gone as planned.

What is going on with Joe Gelhardt?
The £15k per week enigma, who was once predicted to follow in the footsteps of “Wazza,” has not lived up to expectations lately, most notably failing to even make it off the bench in each of the previous two games under Farke.

The misfiring marksman – who has three goals and seven assists to his name in 48 outings for the club – has only recently returned from a loan stint at Sunderland last season, where he scored three times and registered three assists in 20 games.

Although he has only made two league starts so far, it was hoped that Gelhardt would finally be able to secure a regular spot in the lineup with the Whites now playing in the second division.

The former Wigan player, who was even linked with a move away from the club during the summer, appears to need to “step up” if he is to eventually prosper in Yorkshire, as Farke himself indicated following the Carabao Cup victory over Shrewsbury Town last month.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay, who confirmed that Gehardt had not achieved the heights that were envisaged when he arrived three years ago, mirrored the German’s remarks:

“Gelhardt, another incredibly gifted guy, just hasn’t been able to follow what would have been the development plan for him, and I think that’s more than anything because of the way it’s been at Leeds.

Nobody at Leeds, in my opinion, would try to say that where he is now is where they had anticipated he would be when they first signed him after his promotion back in the summer of that previous year.

It has been far from a pleasant ride thus far, and the question now is whether Gelhardt can overcome his recent setbacks or maintain this lackluster trajectory. This may be due to the recent chaos at Leeds or the player’s own limitations.