Leeds United journalist Phil Hay has been speaking about how he wants to see Joe Gelhardt be handed more minutes.
It has been a tough season for Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa, who have struggled, not only for consistency on the pitch, but also when it comes to team selections as they have sustained so many injuries to key players.
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Bielsa has now confirmed that Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper have all picked up injuries that will keep them sidelined for a period of time and with the former two out, that leaves just youngster Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts as the club’s only first-team strikers with top-flight experience.
Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, Hay would like to see the 5’10” striker start a lot more, especially given how poor Roberts has been, not just this season, but for Leeds in the Premier League.
“It’s still that feeling of when Bamford isn’t there you really, really miss him – and Rodrigo doesn’t seem like he’s going to be the alternative. There is Gelhardt, who I would like to see used and I would like to see minutes given to, but again, he’s young and it’s a lot of pressure to pile on him.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds’ striker situation…
It would be a big call from Bielsa to hand Gelhardt only his second start in the Premier League when they are in a relegation battle and can’t afford to give up many more points having won just three games all season and ultimately, have struggled to score a lot of goals in matches.
It’s not just a risk for Gelhardt throwing him in at the deep end because of his inexperience and age, but also it could potentially ruin Roberts’ confidence if a 19-year old is preferred to him in the Premier League, especially having just scored his first goal of the season against Brentford recently.
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