Striker 'favours' Wigan move over potential Sunderland switch

It appears Sunderland have some work to do if they want to sign Joe Gelhardt from Leeds.

Joe Gelhardt ‘favours’ a move to Wigan over Sunderland, according to top Leeds journalist Phil Hay.

Gelhardt looks certain to leave Leeds on loan this month as the Yorkshire club are keen to get him valuable first-team football to aid his development.

Sunderland are one of the clubs who are hoping to sign him, and that interest has been ramped up since the chaos at Everton made an Ellis Simms return increasingly unlikely.

However, The Athletic report that Gelhardt himself would prefer to re-join former club Wigan, who are desperately trying to stave off relegation from the Championship.

Joe Gelhardt favours a move to Wigan but a couple of other clubs in for him still.

Leeds referenced Harry Kane’s loans over the weekend so I spoke to Kenny Jackett who coached Kane at Millwall - and also @jermainebecks83 about making a loan work for you:https://t.co/JTkWb4x9Pv

— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) January 25, 2023

The deal may come down to money, though, with Leeds asking for a sizable portion of his wages to be paid for the duration of the loan deal. Understandably, they also want guarantees over the amount of minutes he will play.

Last week, Leeds completed the signing of striker Georginio Rutter and CEO Angus Kinnear said that would mean letting Gelhardt leave on loan.

“Rutter’s arrival will mean that we will be looking to make some outbound loans before the end of the transfer window,” Kinnear wrote in the club’s programme ahead of their game against Brentford.

“We believe that being more active in loaning out our emerging talent will be important in ultimately accelerating their ability to contribute to our first team.

“Harry Kane had four different loan spells before he became England’s best striker and Championship experience is a significant step up from competing in Premier League 2.” 

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