{"id":12253,"date":"2025-08-03T22:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T22:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2025\/08\/03\/rangers-plot-permanent-move-for-this-leeds-united-outcast-should-martin-make-it-happen\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T22:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T22:03:12","slug":"rangers-plot-permanent-move-for-this-leeds-united-outcast-should-martin-make-it-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2025\/08\/03\/rangers-plot-permanent-move-for-this-leeds-united-outcast-should-martin-make-it-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers Plot Permanent Move For This Leeds United Outcast: Should Martin Make It Happen?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>If a recent update from journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SportsPeteO\/status\/1951325739317342597\">Pete O\u2019Rourke<\/a> is believed to be true, Rangers are eyeing a permanent swoop for Joe Gelhardt. The young attacking ace is surplus to requirements at Elland Road, and Leeds United could offload him north of the border, with both clubs now owned by the 49ers.<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old former England youth international progressed through Wigan\u2019s academy ranks before breaking into their senior side during his teenage years. The Whites snapped him up for \u20ac1m in the summer of 2020, and then-boss Marcelo Bielsa eventually involved Gelhardt as a first-team option during the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Why The Youngster Should Ply His Trade To Rangers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Meanwhile, he was loaned out to Sunderland in January 2023 for regular gametime. He returned to West Yorkshire six months later, but hardly featured under Daniel Farke in their battle for Premier League promotion. He left for Hull City earlier this year on yet another temporary transfer and helped them escape relegation by netting five times in 20 Championship encounters.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328460\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-328460\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-lazyloaded=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Rangers target Gelhardt in action for Leeds\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1024x649.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-768x487.jpg 768w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-2048x1298.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-150x95.jpg 150w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-600x380.jpg 600w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-696x441.jpg 696w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1392x882.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1068x677.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1920x1217.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-663x420.jpg 663w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/leeds-united-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-1325x840.jpg 1325w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-328460\">LEEDS, ENGLAND \u2013 JANUARY 04: Leeds striker Joe Gelhardt (c) is challenged by West Ham players Nayef Aguerd (l) and Flynn Downes during the Premier League match between Leeds United and West Ham United at Elland Road on January 04, 2023 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Stu Forster\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Leeds, back in the top flight of English football, already have Brenden Aaronson for the \u2018number 10\u2019 spot. They are also <a href=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/2025\/07\/leeds-united-plan-to-activate-release-clause-of-this-leicester-city-playmaker-smart-move-from-the-whites\/#google_vignette\">closing<\/a> in on Bilal El Khannouss, who might replace Aaronson in Farke\u2019s 4-2-3-1 formation. The arrival of the Leicester City playmaker would further jeopardise Gelhardt\u2019s future, and Lukas Nmecha, roped in on a Bosman, is expected to get the nod over the youngster as the understudy to Jo\u00ebl Piroe for the \u2018number 9\u2019 slot.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What He Would Offer Under Martin<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>But a move to Ibrox could help him fulfil his potential. He has not played a lot over the last couple of years, and therefore, must aim for a fresh start under the tutelage of Russell Martin in the blue half of Glasgow.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/category\/leagues\/scottish-league\/rangers\/\">Rangers<\/a> parted ways with Tom Lawrence and Ianis Hagi upon their contract expiry. Also, they did not convert Vaclav Cerny\u2019s loan into a permanent deal. Djeidi Gassama and Mikey Moore have restored balance and uplifted the quality down the wide. However, the uncertainties over Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane\u2019s future could decimate them again high up the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>Gelhardt prefers to operate as an attacking playmaker, but Martin prefers box-to-box midfielders in his 4-3-3 setup. Lyall Cameron and Thelo Aasgaard, the other summer recruits, are effective in a similar role. Nevertheless, the gaffer must have plans for the Peacocks prospect, regardless of his options in and around the attacking third.<\/p>\n<p>The Englishman is flexible enough to fit in across the frontline.\u00a0 He might not start games week in and week out, but could make a difference with his immense work ethic, dribbling, build-up play and creativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If a recent update from journalist Pete O\u2019Rourke is believed to be true, Rangers are eyeing a permanent swoop for Joe Gelhardt. The young attacking ace is surplus to requirements at Elland Road, and Leeds United could offload him north of the border, with both clubs now owned by the 49ers. The 23-year-old former England [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12953,"featured_media":12254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12953"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}