Farke must now axe Leeds dud who earns as much as Piroe & Joseph

Leeds United have impressively won ten of their 13 games at Elland Road this Championship season so far, but their very first game in front of the home masses for 2025 didn’t bring about another sweet victory.

Instead, it was a rather drab draw that was served up, as Danny Batth scored a dramatic late equaliser for Blackburn Rovers to close the contest at 1-1.

Now, it’s up to Daniel Farke to pick up his troops ahead of a big 2025, with the January transfer window now giving him time to add in some new additions to sprinkle his side with even more quality.

Of course, Leeds haven’t always been prolific spenders in this window, as was seen this time last year when the Whites went about their business conservatively.

Leeds’ past January business

In the end, the only capture that took place back in January 2024 was the underwhelming loan acquisition of Connor Roberts from Burnley.

Safe to say, Roberts failed to truly fit into his new surroundings, with just one goal and one assist mustered up by the Welshman from 15 forgettable displays, before he bounced back at Turf Moor to become a regular under Scott Parker.

It could be argued that such a lack of business negatively impacted Leeds’ promotion chances, with the Whites squad becoming stretched, leading to a crushing playoff final defeat to Southampton.

Now, however, the Whites could be more proactive, with rumours already linking Farke’s men to the likes of James McAtee and Nico Elvedi to boost the camp.

Whilst there might well be a change in narrative regarding incomings, this January ahead could also see some exits occur, with this forgotten Whites figure in desperate need of a change of scenery.

Joe Gelhardt’s time at Leeds

Once a heavily talked about prospect in West Yorkshire, Joe Gelhardt has really suffered from a lack of game-time over the past couple of seasons.

The Liverpool-born centre-forward was even labelled as “brilliant” by Jamie Carragher in 2021, when he was regularly making waves in the Whites first-team as a golden young gem.

Long gone now are the days where Gelhardt would be linking up with Raphinha to fire home dramatic strikes like these, however, with the ex-Wigan Athletic man only making a meagre three appearances for Farke’s men so far this season.

Therefore, the much-maligned 22-year-old surely wouldn’t refuse an opportunity to leave Elland Road behind this January, as suitors such as Wrexham begin to allegedly sniff around.

After all, when Gelhardt was at the peak of his powers donning Leeds white, he would find the back of the net six times playing in both the Premier League and Championship, meaning he could well light up the third tier if Phil Parkinson’s men do swoop in.

More pressingly, away from wanting to give Gelhardt more game-time – whether that be through a loan exit or a permanent route away – Leeds will also want the reserve attacker off the books soon owing to his steep £15k-per-week wage.

Amazingly, the on-the-fringes striker pockets the same salary as first-team regulars Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph, with Piroe on to nine goals for the season in the Championship now as an important figure up top.

Moreover, Joseph will also likely play a key part in Leeds’ ongoing hunt for promotion based on the number of appearances above, whilst Gelhardt stares the exit door in the face.

With Queens Park Rangers also reportedly keen on his services, expect the 22-year-old to be off at some point across this frantic January period.

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