One of the reasons Angus Kinnear cited not to bring in a new first team striker during the summer was to avoid blocking Joe Gelhardt's pathway. Gelhardt started three of Leeds United's last four matches at the backend of last season and played a key role in securing survival with a moment of individual brilliance to setup Pascal Struijk's stoppage time equaliser against Brighton.
But this term, Gelhardt's progression into the first team seems to have gone two steps backwards with just 152 minutes of Premier League football. Granted, the 20-year-old was not at his best in his Carabao Cup start against Barnsley in August, but he has simply not been allowed to build a consistent number of match minutes.
He was even left out of the squad completely for Leeds' 0-0 draw with Aston Villa earlier this month. That could, perhaps, be excused if those deemed ahead of him in the pecking order were at the top of their game.
