Leeds United close to deploying 19-year-old playmaker Joe Gelhardt?

Gelhardt joined Leeds from Wigan Athletic in August 2020 and admitted making the jump to a Premier League side as a teenager wasn't immediately easy. 

"Sometimes, it does feel like a sacrifice, but you know in the long term you're going to feel much better," Gelhardt explained about embracing a different lifestyle upon signing with Leeds. "You're going to be leaner. It's gonna be easier when you're out there playing." 

Gelhardt credited the intense training sessions with providing those within the Leeds squad with competitive advantages late in matches. 

"It's the latter stages of the game, the last 20 minutes, when we're feeling fine and you see the opposition, they're going down with cramping or whatever. That's when you get a push in your life. 

"We're going to run all over them. That gives us a big edge, to get that advantage over them."

Gelhardt added he prefers to play as a key striker or goal-creator for the Leeds attack. 

"I feel like if I looked up to a player, it would be [Lionel] Messi," he continued during his comments. "How focused he is. It's eye-opening. If you want to get to the top, you have to do extra than everyone else. You've got to want to be better than everyone else. It's a demonstration of hard works pays off and gets you to the top." 

Like the previously mentioned Greenwood and other under-23 talents, Gelhardt's ultimate goal is to become a weekly starter for the Premier League squad competing against many of the world's top players. According to Phil Hay of The Athletic and other observers, Gelhardt may not have to wait too much longer for an opportunity to turn his dream into reality.