Hull City 'make Joe Gelhardt decision' as Leeds prepare to accept new offer

Hull City are prepared to walk away from their pursuit of Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt after putting new transfer plans in place.

This comes after the club’s owner, Acun Medya, confessed that they were undecided about whether or not to make the 24-year-old's move permanent this summer.

The Leeds man has spent the last two season on loan at the MKM Stadium, but following their promotion to the Premier League, Hull are eyeing more ambitious targets.

Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown, who represented Hull during his playing career, told Football Insider that Gelhardt isn’t good enough for the Premier League.

Despite having impressed during his loan spells with Hull, Sergej Jakirovic is aiming to add top-quality players to his squad to strengthen their chances of survival.

Gelhardt, while still admired there, does not tick that box for the boss, who is instead eyeing a number of alternative options to help lead the line in the top flight.

Could Hull City make a move to sign Joe Gelhardt?

Brown told Football Insider in June that Leeds are prepared to accept offers for Gelhardt, with Hull on alert as they were weighing up making a permanent move.

However, behind-the-scenes discussions between the manager and the recruitment team have seen them pivot their ambitions towards other targets this summer.

As a result, Gelhardt looks increasingly likely to end up moving elsewhere, as he is still not part of Daniel Farke’s plans and is expected to leave Elland Road permanently.

"Joe Gelhardt is an interesting one, because he's certainly got talent," Brown told Football Insider.

"He came onto my radar as a young player at Wigan, then got that big move to Leeds, but he hasn't really kicked on to the level where a lot of people thought he would.

"They're now ready to let him go, and after spending a couple of years on loan at Hull, it looked like they would be the obvious destination.

"The problem is, unfortunately, I don't think he's a Premier League-quality player, and it looks like Hull agree with me on that, because they're looking at other targets.

"Sergej Jakirovic wants to bring in players who can give his side the best chance of staying in the Premier League, and Gelhardt isn't one of those.

"He wants a top-class striker who can almost guaruntee them goals in the top flight, that's not an easy task, but when Gelhardt is the one you're looking at, I wouldn't be convinced."

Which other clubs are interested in signing Gelhardt?

With Hull seemingly cooling their interest in signing Gelhardt, that has opened the door for him to move elsewhere, with a number of clubs keeping tabs on his situation.

Leeds are ready to let the forward leave on a permanent deal, and a host of Championship clubs are ready to bring him back to the second tier.

Football Insider revealed on 5 August that Birmingham City have held preliminary talks with Leeds to assess the possibility of landing Gelhardt in the final month of the window.

The Blues are ideally looking to secure a loan deal for the 24-year-old, but have discussed the possibility of including a conditional obligation to buy in any deal.

That could see Birmingham make his signing permanent if they are promoted to the Premier League, after establishing ambitious aims for the coming season.