Jay’s West Ham United trials and football friend may have bent the truth in The Inbetweeners, but the ribbing Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood get for their connection at the hip is built on rock-solid foundations. The Leeds United pair met on international duty with England several years ago and slowly watched their stories come together in a joint arrival at Elland Road in the same 2020 summer transfer window.
Barely four months separate their ages and 2021/22 seems to be the year they will both look back on as the campaign they properly broke into senior professional football. While Gelhardt has taken the bulk of the headlines with his goals, assists and match-saving cameos, Greenwood is slowly but surely coming onto the radar with an immense amount of faith from Jesse Marsch at his back.
Greenwood was central to United’s second and third goals at Watford last weekend with an impact which legitimately puts him in the conversation for match-changing turns down the home stretch. Those watching closely will have seen the affection they have for each other.
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The first man onto the pitch after full-time to celebrate Gelhardt’s maiden goal at Stamford Bridge was Greenwood, while Gelhardt could not wipe the grin off his face as he raced out to be with his old pal last weekend following the final whistle. They are inseparable off the pitch too, much to the amusement of team-mates and club staff alike.
“We’ve got a really good relationship off the field,” said Gelhardt. “We’re always together and when we’re walking down people will say ‘ooo friends’ and take the mick out of us. We just get on well together and on the pitch, we’re always looking for each other and passing to each other and helping each other out and trying to score goals together, really.”
Stepping into a mainstream global competition like the Premier League can be an overawing experience for a young footballer, but it’s made all the more special by sharing the experience with one another. Gelhardt said: “To be exposed to [the] first team in the Premier League with someone you’ve known for years, me and Sam knew each other from England four years ago, we’ve been mates for a long time and then to play in the Premier League together or see each other doing well is an unbelievable feeling.”
As is so often the way in modern football, the youngsters cut their teeth in Leeds white with cup debuts. Greenwood even made his on a forgettable, disastrous day at Crawley Town in the FA Cup last season, while Gelhardt had to wait.
Anticipation was almost at fever pitch when the teenager eventually got on at Fulham in the EFL Cup last September, but the fireworks would not come until one month later, at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Any attempt to keep the lid on the hype was abandoned in a half-hour ripper from Gelhardt which culminated in an injury-time, match-saving penalty award. He’s not looked back.
Greenwood’s league debut came from the bench in December when the squad was at its most threadbare on the day Arsenal visited Elland Road. He’s had to be patient since then, but saw a breakthrough last weekend.
“I wouldn’t say I’m going ahead of him, it's just different times,” said Gelhardt. “I got my exposure a little bit earlier than him, but he said to me, the other day after the game, it was crazy.
“At Watford, he didn’t feel nervous coming on, but his debut, he was nervous against Arsenal and I said ‘every one gets easier’ and he was like ‘I felt that after the Watford game when I came on, I wasn’t even nervous, I was just excited.’ I was telling him every time you come on it gets a bit easier and just do what you do when you’re on the pitch, just play your own game, you’re there for a reason, do what you do and score.”
Injuries have proved frustrating for both of the forwards this season, but with health on their side now, and a Patrick Bamford-shaped hole persisting for a few more weeks yet, opportunities are there for this young pair of friends.
