With Nicolas Kuhn’s transfer imminent, the chances of signing 21-year-old could also be increasing

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With talk around Nicolas Kuhn’s arrival from Rapid Wien, one other name that has popped up on Celtic’s transfer radar has been Leeds United’s, Joe Gelhardt.

The 21-year-old has bags of potential and the quality is there, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that someone like Brendan Rodgers would be keen on him.

And Celtic’s chances of signing the all-action forward might have just increased in recent weeks!

One thing is for sure, Joe Gelhardt is going to struggle to earn minutes for Leeds United this season because of what he is up against.

In the summer, the Championship side signed one of the top strikers in England’s second tier – Joel Piroe – he has nine goals from 27.

But in recent weeks, Patrick Bamford has scored in back-to-back league games, including a wonder strike in the FA Cup, which puts the big-money summer signing on the bench.

That leaves Joe Gelhardt, who was struggling for game time anyway, further down the pecking order and more towards the exit door. He was an unused substitute as Daniel Farke’s side beat Cardiff City 3-0 on Saturday.

The youngster has only played 169 minutes of Championship football this term and this is Celtic’s chance to pounce for his signature and add his name alongside Nicolas Kuhn’s.

Joe Gelhardt suits Celtic

The England U20 star has pace to burn, and like Kyogo Furuhashi, he likes to play off the shoulder. 

There is more versatility to Gelhardt’s game because he doesn’t just operate in the penalty area, but he can play in behind and out wide.

Over the years, he has been used in those positions sporadically, but you would expect that if Celtic can snap him up, then he would compete with Kyogo and the currently absent, Hyeongyu Oh.

But whilst it’s likely that the Englishman leaves, if there is competition elsewhere for his signature from much wealthier clubs, then it will put Celtic on the back foot.