Joe Gelhardt reveals Daniel Farke conversation before Leeds United man made Hull City move — Hull Live24/1/25

The forward scored a quite brilliant debut goal on his 100th career appearance in midweek

Joe Gelhardt says he told Daniel Farke about his desperation to make a loan move away from Leeds United in a bid to play regular football.

The 22-year-old striker joined Hull City on loan earlier this month and made an instant impression by scoring a stunning goal on his home debut on Tuesday night as the Tigers were beaten 2-1 at home by QPR.

Gelhardt penned a loan deal at City until the end of the season after Leeds sanctioned his departure from Elland Road, granting the Liverpool-born frontman's wish to get games under his belt, and he's relishing the chance to add to his tally against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Friday night.

Despite City's perilous league position, which sees them mired inside the bottom three after Portsmouth's 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Stoke City on Wednesday evening, the Liverpool-born frontman admits he's relishing the challenge of dragging Ruben Selles' side away from what he believes is a false position.

"It's a challenge, isn't it? I think it's a false (league) position," he told Hull Live. "When I saw the game against Leeds from the bench, I saw how good Hull (City) were and we were saying (in the dressing room) how are they in the bottom three, it doesn't make any sense, they're a good team?

"Once I've seen the style of play and the manager and how he likes to play, I thought it suited me, so my agent was in contact with Hull and Leeds, and he just let me know, and then since that, I've always wanted to come to Hull. It was just about Leeds letting me go; that was the delay."

Gelhardt was limited to just four league outings for the Whites this term, but says he had to keep his head down and focus on getting his chance, and that chance has now come across Yorkshire at the MKM Stadium.

"That's football (lack of playing at Elland Road)," he explained. "Sometimes, you don't play; you can't sit there and moan about it; you've got to crack on with it, but I had a conversation with him (Farke) just before January about what my plan was going to be. As a footballer, you want to play games, so I told him that I'd like to go out on loan and try and play if I'm not in his plans, and he agreed to it; he let me, and he was happy with it.

"I just like playing football, and obviously, I won't get the minutes I'd have liked at Leeds. The other option was a loan, so that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to play football, and I'm thankful to this club for showing interest."

Gelhardt's strike in the final 10 minutes on Tuesday night was his first since netting in the EFL Cup against Shrewsbury Town in August 2023, while his last Championship strike came on loan at Sunderland against Huddersfield Town in April 2023, just two games after he netted against City in the chaotic 4-4 Stadium of Light draw, and he says it will do wonders for his confidence.

"I didn't actually know it was my 100th career appearance, to be fair, but yes, it's good to get off the mark for this club and, hopefully, score again tomorrow against Sheffield United," he continued.

"If you ask any striker, the first one's usually the hardest, and once that one comes, you play with confidence, you get a feel for it, and you essentially just end up playing better, so I'm made up."

City play their final game of a busy three-match week at Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United on Friday night with the Tigers looking for a third straight-away victory, and it's one Gelhardt is relishing.

"It doesn't get much better than that in terms of the teams you play in this, in this league, so I'm excited, and I'm looking forward to it because it should be a feisty game, and I think as a player, they're the type of games that you thrive on, and you want to be involved in, so I can't wait.

"The result (against Rangers) wasn't what we wanted, but the good thing about the Championship is games come thick and fast, so you can put it to bed and then get onto the next one quickly."