Ian Poveda and Joe Gelhardt, two strikers for Leeds United, are drawing interest even before the January transfer window opens.
Daniel Farke now has both players very much on the outside of his plans; Gelhardt hasn’t played a minute since September’s 3-0 victory against Millwall.
While Poveda has made slightly more appearances than Gelhardt, the fact that he was permitted to travel and represent Colombia this month is a very telling indication of how much Farke believes he needs Poveda.
Journalist Darren Witcoop claims that Leeds won’t let both forwards go unless they can find a replacement, which is seldom easy in January. Poveda’s Elland Road contract expires at the end of the current campaign, and Hull City and Huddersfield Town are apparently interested in Gelhardt.
Leeds ought to get a number 10 and sell both.
Farke, according to the Athletic, does not want any of the players on his team to leave, including Gelhardt, who is seriously short on playing time.
But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to let him go—even if it was just temporarily—so he could go somewhere else and rebuild his confidence.
Leeds still lacks a number ten in their current lineup, and although Poveda and Gelhardt are options, they aren’t strong enough to challenge for promotion.
In light of this, it would be prudent to let go of both when the window opens the next month in order to purchase someone who can start working right away.
Off the bench, Georginio Rutter needs a creative central player when things aren’t going well, like they weren’t last night. Leeds’ loss at Sunderland was partly due to the fact that they lacked that.
