Save today, spend tomorrow was the theme of Leeds United‘s January window, with the only significant senior incoming at Elland Road having been the loan signing of Facundo Buonanotte.
Perhaps confident of their Premier League survival, the 49ers are seemingly set to wait until the summer to properly invest, with wild deadline day reports even suggesting that Real Madrid sensation, Endrick, could be on their upcoming list of targets.
Landing the teenage Brazilian, currently on loan at Ligue 1 side Lyon, appears an improbable task, although a more likely outcome could be the capture of long-term target, Harry Wilson.
Indeed, the Whites are believed to still be in the race for the Welshman’s signature, with just under six months left on his current Fulham deal, albeit with a queue of clubs lining up to secure that potential free transfer scoop.
As he’s proved this season, the 28-year-old is certainly a talent, but missing out on him shouldn’t be a disaster for the Yorkshire side.
How Wilson compares to Leeds forwards this season
Wilson has wisely left his future open, with his contract nearing expiry, and it’s hard not to notice his stunning form at Craven Cottage this season.
The in-demand winger has chalked up eight goals and four assists in the league in 2025/26 thus far, having netted three times across his last five top-flight outings, including against both Chelsea and former club Liverpool.
Only six players can better his goalscoring tally in the division, although one of those is Leeds’ own Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with the Englishman netting nine times since his own free transfer switch from Everton.
The 28-year-old striker has showcased the benefits of waiting to land a free agent, with the same also true to a lesser degree with Lukas Nmecha, the German not too far behind Wilson with five goals of his own to date.
Brenden Aaronson, meanwhile, is third on Leeds’ scoring list with four goals this season, with the American also leading the way at Elland Road, alongside Anton Stach, for assists (three) – albeit while still behind Wilson in that regard.
The Fulham talisman is evidently a cut above Farke’s current crop, with this a deal certainly worth pursuing. That said, if he ends up elsewhere ahead of next season, the Whites might just have a perfect in-house alternative.
Leeds may already have their own Harry Wilson out on loan
The case of Aaronson in recent seasons has showcased that no player is necessarily a lost cause, with the playmaker returning from his time on loan in Germany to play a key role in the successful promotion push, while stepping it up a gear in 2025/26.
For many, there is no coming back from being shipped off elsewhere, but Aaronson bucks the trend. Could Joe Gelhardt now follow suit?
Now, it must be said, that it is long since Gelhardt was truly considered a first-team asset at Elland Road, having been on loan at Hull City since last January, across two spells.
Even before that, the 24-year-old had been on the periphery at his parent club, making just 57 appearances in total in all competitions, while also joining Sunderland on a temporary deal in 2023.
There were glimpses of his talent as a youngster under Marcelo Bielsa, having notably been dubbed a “human wrecking ball” by the enigmatic coach, although it’s been a tough road since, having become something of a forgotten figure in truth.
That dynamic might have changed somewhat, however, with the Englishman now shining in the second tier, mirroring Wilson with 12 goals and assists in league action this season.
A versatile left-footer who can operate off the right or centrally, much like the Fulham man, he also boasts a knack for the spectacular, with his ten league goals coming from an xG of just 6.59.
|
Gelhardt (Champ) vs Wilson (PL) – 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (*per game) |
Gelhardt |
Wilson |
|
Games |
23 |
23 |
|
Goals |
10 |
8 |
|
Assists |
2 |
4 |
|
Big chances missed |
5 |
0 |
|
Big chances created |
3 |
4 |
|
Goals conversion |
19% |
15% |
|
Mins per goal |
168 |
222 |
|
Key passes* |
1.0 |
1.1 |
|
Succ. dribbles* |
1.5 |
0.5 |
Wilson too, for comparison, loves a strike from range or an acute angle, with his eight strikes coming from an xG of just 3.96.
It’s also worth remembering too that Wilson has been something of a late bloomer at Premier League level, joining his current side at the age of 24, before earning promotion at the end of his first season.
Prior to that, his only full season in the top-flight had been with Bournemouth in 2019/20, with much of his best work coming in the Championship at the likes of Cardiff City, Derby County and Gelhardt’s current side, Hull.
Now into his stride in what is his fourth successive Premier League campaign, Wilson is entering into the peak of his powers, having never truly made the grade back at Anfield.
That late rise bodes well for the impact Gelhardt, still only 23, could make if he is to return to Leeds this summer, with it perhaps unwise to write him off just yet.
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