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Leeds United have announced the signing of 18-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt from Wigan Athletic on a four-year-deal.
✍️ #LUFC are delighted to announce the signing of Joe Gelhardt from Wigan Athletic on a four-year deal
— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 10, 2020
The fee is undisclosed but all the links over the past few weeks have put the fee at around £1m, with add-ons to take it up to around £2.5m. The fee that has been described as a bargain in many quarters. it is not expected at this stage that he will be one of the u23 players sent out on loan by Marcelo Bielsa.
Gelhardt made his Wigan debut at the age of 16 in the Carabao cup against Rotherham United. He was a regular off the bench for Wigan last season and impressed. He has also played for England at u16, u17, & u18 levels where he has 19 goals in 21 appearances. He scored his first senior Wigan goal in a 2-2 draw against Hull City in September 2019.
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 10, 2020
It's been a busy day at Leeds United!
✍️ The Premier League club have completed the signing of England under-18s forward Joe Gelhardt from Wigan on a four-year deal.#LUFC pic.twitter.com/GDYvpenEMm
It would appear Leeds have been able to take advantage of the well documented financial problems at Wigan to get this done. While it is never good to see a team in trouble, a lot of Leeds fans will feel good that for the first time in years - it isn’t us being taken advantage of.
Gelhardt is Leeds’ second signing of the day, following the confirmation of Jack Harrison’s season-long loan from Manchester City.
Are you looking forward to seeing Gelhardt in a Leeds shirt? Will he be able to make an impact this season or will that come too soon? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @ThruItAllLUFC.