Over to Joe - The Square Ball 6/10/21

JOFFY AT NINE

Written by Steven York

My personality makes it very difficult to just ‘enjoy the moment’ because I’m always thinking about the broader context and the chess moves ahead. My career is predicated on this ability, and while my inability to be spontaneous is a real attribute in some areas of life, sometimes it kills my enjoyment of football. I’m delirious with joy seeing young Joe Gelhardt dance his way through waves of Under-23 opponents while scoring increasingly audacious goals, but I’m concerned about what’s next for the young lad.

Leeds’ recruitment for the development squad has been excellent and shows a desire to focus on the team of tomorrow by bringing in players like Joffy, Sam Greenwood, Lewis Bate and Crysencio Summerville. Instead of spending £25m on a winger, you can sign one for £1m-£3m and develop them in the exact tactical system the first team utilises. The theory is they’ll be ready to supplement the match-day squad when injuries and suspensions are impacting availability, eventually stepping up to first-team duty.

We’ve seen this offering value already this season. Charlie Cresswell may be home-grown rather than recruited, but he has already confidently stepped in when needed. Helder Costa and Ian Poveda leaving on loan is a huge vote of confidence for Summerville, who is on the fringe of the first-team squad already.

The one that’s concerning me at the moment is Joffy. He looks superb. Physical, technical and intelligent, he’s got a fantastic set of attributes. His record in the development squad is very pleasing and any casual viewer of U23 games will be aware of his propensity to score terrific goals. Most fans are already asking for him to creep into the first-team, but it’s a tricky concept.

I don’t think throwing a talented young prospect into the deep end of the Premier League is particularly helpful. Leeds United is a slightly tense spectacle at the moment — I worry that had we not won against Watford, the crowd might have started showing signs of dissent and frustration at the full-time whistle. Look at the semi-justified grief Tyler Roberts is getting and ask whether that’s positive for a young player’s development. Would it be right to throw Joffy into this pressure-cooker? Or are we best letting Rodrigo, an experienced £30m international, carry the attacking burden? I sense it’s the latter.

Then the question becomes, if not now, when do we promote Joffy? Because it feels like there will always be reasons not to. The reasons are Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts.

Gelhardt is a classic no.9. He’s a striker in the most traditional and complete sense. In the same way you couldn’t have played Alan Shearer to the same effect as a false 9 or a 10, Joffy needs to be the centre-forward. But Bamford is exceptional in our tactical system and a very different type of player. You could argue Bamford’s abilities as a centre-forward are second to his contribution to the team as a whole — the pressing, hold-up play and defensive elements of his game are crucial to our success and I think Bielsa will want to continue leveraging them.

When Bamford is not available we’ve got a £30m Spain international centre-forward who has been working hard to succeed as a 10, but always looks more cohesive and dangerous up-front. Then we’ve got another project player, Roberts, who still needs development and would argue that his best position is up front too. How do we get Gelhardt higher-up the pecking order with these three ahead?

Do we need to put players into neat boxes and insist that our striking options are Bamford then Joffy, our no.10 options are Rodrigo then Roberts? That doesn’t fit with how Bielsa has been approaching things. It feels like a player like Gelhardt could score goals, but if his all-round contribution to the team isn’t enough, Bielsa might drop him. His penalty against Fulham was top notch but the manager’s post-match presser hinted at needing more from the young lad, given he hardly touched the ball in the time he was given in the game.

This is where my brain works overtime to prevent enjoyment. It’s brilliant to see Joffy scoring audacious goals and knocking on Bielsa’s door, but practically, how does he get into the first-team squad? How does he unseat Bamford? How does he get past Rodrigo? How does he demonstrate he’s more valuable to develop than Roberts?

These feel like near-impossible questions but I like the lad so much I hope we find a way. Maybe not this season, but soon. It’d be terrific to see him given minutes against Arsenal in the League Cup to prove where he’s at against that level of opposition because, as with Cresswell, these single moments can be enough to change your stock in the squad. Gelhardt has just received a call-up to the England Under-21 team and that can’t hurt his chances. Maybe, in the end, it’s over to you, Joe.