The Missed Transfer Opportunity Leeds United and Sunderland Might Regret: Wigan Athletic’s Perspective

The Missed Transfer Opportunity Leeds United and Sunderland Might Regret: Wigan Athletic’s Perspective

Gelhardt’s promise flashes in short game time, leaving Wigan fans unhappy about his fast move to Leeds United. Latics squandered an opportunity to benefit on Gelhardt’s potential, but he thrived at Sunderland despite relegation. Gelhardt’s exit was a watershed moment for struggling Wigan, as the club lost important players due to financial difficulties. Joe Gelhardt, a Wigan Athletic academy graduate, impressed during his early days with the Latics and previously captained England’s under-18 team while playing for the north-west club.

However, the talented youth only played one full season as a senior player with the Latics, during the 2019/20 season, in which he made 18 Championship appearances and scored his only goal for the club in a 2-2 draw with Hull City in September 2019. By the summer of 2020, Gelhardt’s former club had been put into administration by ex-owner Stanley Choi, forcing the team to sell its assets, including the brilliant forward who joined Leeds United.

Latics fans will always be upset that they haven’t seen more of one of their club’s best youth graduates in recent years. Gelhardt’s career has not progressed as much as it could have, with the 22-year-old making only 10 Championship appearances for Leeds last season and failing to score a goal.

However, in January 2023, the Latics academy product nearly re-united with his former club, as the Athletic reported that he was close to a loan return, while Wigan Today journalist Paul Kendrick posted on X that, despite interest from several Championship clubs, Gelhardt chose to rejoin the ‘Tics. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the forward ended up spending the second half of the 2022/23 Championship season with Sunderland, where he scored three goals and helped the Black Cats reach the play-offs.

While the former England youth international helped the Black Cats to a top-six finish, the Latics were fighting for relegation in the Championship and might have profited greatly from their academy product’s services. Shaun Maloney’s side were relegated to League One in 2023, following point deductions and additional financial malfeasance, this time managed by former owner Abdulrahman Al Jasmi and ex-chairman Talal Al Hammad.

However, a player of Gelhardt’s talent would have given the Latics a fighting chance, and fans will wonder how well he would have paired up with former fan favourite Will Keane, one of the club’s best goal scorers in recent times. The Latics finished the 2022/23 Championship season seven points behind safety, thanks in part to a three-point penalty, but a player of Gelhardt’s talent may have been a game-changer in tight games at the bottom of the table.

Prior to entering administration in the summer of 2020, the Latics appeared to be moving in the right direction, and if not for their 12-point deduction, the side then managed by Paul Cook would have finished 13th at the end of the 2019/20 second tier season, despite spending much of the season in a relegation battle. Cook had several high-quality players at his disposal in Greater Manchester, including Antonee Robinson, who has gone on to become a good Premier League player with Fulham, and Kieffer Moore, who has twice been promoted to the top level with Bournemouth and Ipswich.

That Latics squad also included Kal Naismith, who participated in the Championship play-offs for Luton Town in 2022, and Leon Balogun, who went on to win the Scottish Premiership with Rangers. But all of these players had to leave the Latics because the club did everything it could to stay afloat during the most chaotic period in its history, and despite all of these departures, the one that will always hurt the most is that of Gelhardt, who was a fantastic homegrown player. The unpleasant circumstances surrounding Gelhardt’s departure contributed significantly to the club’s desire for his return in 2023, but it was not to be.