Sunderland facing major potential obstacle in race for Leeds striker

Are Leeds pricing Sunderland out of a deal for in-demand youngster?

Sunderland could face a major hurdle if they are hoping to win the race to sign Leeds striker Joe Gelhardt on loan.

The Black Cats are one of a number of Championship clubs linked with a move for the 20-year-old, with Blackburn and Swansea City among the other clubs interested.

However, one major problem Sunderland will have is that Leeds are looking for a sizable wage contribution from any club who take Gelhardt for the rest of the season.

Gelhardt signed a new five-year deal with Leeds last summer, and he is understood to have had his wages bumped to around the £20,000 per week mark as part of it.

Leeds are wanting a large percentage of that covered in any loan agreement, which would cause problems for Sunderland with their current wage structure.

Boss Tony Mowbray gave a little insight into where Sunderland are at when it comes to wages when recently discussing the ongoing contract negotiations with Ross Stewart.

Mowbray explained that Sunderland’s budget has not yet caught up with the rest of the Championship, and that is likely to be a major obstacle in any pursuit of Gelhardt.

“The context is that we just came out of League One, with League One salary levels and everything, because you have to manage the club prudently,” Mowbray said.

“How quickly do you jump to being a top [Championship] team who pays that [level of] money? We aren't there yet. We have to grow it.

“We have to grow the team to get there. At the moment, there are a lot of teams way ahead of us in this league in terms of salary."

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