Joe Gelhardt to Celtic? Transfer link addressed, player profile & our verdict

The Hoops are yet to make any big moves this month but rumours have been aplenty, as is usually the case.

Brendan Rodgers is looking to add genuine quality to his squad as the Hoops look to strengthen their Premiership title charge. And the striking department could be one area that is strengthened.

Celtic are short in attack with Oh having left for the Asian Cup with South Korea. Kyogo is our only fit and available striker so Rodgers will likely require an extra body. Could it be Gelhardt?

Joe Gelhardt is a 21-year-old English centre-forward who currently plies his trade with EFL Championship giants Leeds United.

The Daily Mail reported on Monday that Celtic and Rangers are both interested in his services, whether it be on a permanent or loan deal isn’t known yet.

The latter is probably more likely because Gelhardt is contracted at Elland Road until the summer of 2027. He signed for Leeds in 2020 from Wigan Athletic but hasn’t really made an impression yet.

Gelhardt has racked up 49 games for the Yorkshire club but has just three goals to his name. His most recent loan spell was with Sunderland during the 2022/23 campaign and managed six goal contributions in 20 appearances.

On the face of it, those numbers above aren’t very encouraging and it’s something that might put the club right off before taking their alleged interest any further.

To makes matters worse, Gelhardt has scored just one goal in eight games for Leeds in 2023/24. Quite frankly, we’d be surprised if Celtic were sniffing around this player.

A permanent move is out of the question given he has another three years on his contract and a loan doesn’t even look likely at this stage either.

The longer the window goes on and Celtic haven’t recruited a striker, Gelhardt to Glasgow probably becomes more likely.

But Celtic fans at the moment will hope it’s the blue half Gelhardt is off to because he won’t be the answer for the Parkhead giants at this juncture of the season.

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