news-engine

Hull City are on the verge of completing the signing of Joe Gelhardt on a long-term contract after agreeing a deal with Premier League rivals Leeds United. Hull Live understands Gelhardt is set to sign a four-year deal at the MKM Stadium with the option of a further 12 months after Acun Ilicali spearheaded talks in the past 24 hours with the Elland Road club. City have moved quickly in the past few days to bring back their former loan favourite, and assuming there are no late hiccups, the 24-year-old will be in the squad to face Nice on Saturday. Gelhardt had been expecting to join Birmingham City earlier this week, before City stepped in to bring him back to the MKM Stadium, and reunite him with boss Sergej Jakirovic, who has pushed for the deal to be completed. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page During two loan spells from Elland Road, Gelhardt's performances and hard work earned him huge respect amongst supporters, and his return will delight those on the terraces, and not least the player himself, who made it clear just as he did before, that he only wanted to join the Tigers. Gelhardt first arrived in January 2025 when the Tigers were mired in a relegation battle, and his five goals helped City stay in the Championship. After coming back last summer, the former Wigan Athletic star bagged 15 goals, including the crucial second in the win at Millwall in the play-off semi-final to clinch City's place in the final at Wembley. Though he started the Wembley showdown with Middlesbrough on the bench, Gelhardt came off it to see the Tigers through to final glory, somehow managing to avoid touching Oli McBurnie's goalbound effort as it nestled in the back of the net. Had he done so, the goal may well have been chalked off for offside. Gelhardt has always spoken about his desire to come back to the MKM Stadium, and now he looks to have got his wish, and the security of a long-term deal, along with the chance to add to his 35 Premier League appearances with Leeds. Jakirovic's squad for the weekend could have as many as four new faces, possibly more, with Nobel Mendy and Lucas Herrington both done, while Lucas Gourna-Douath's arrival is also set to be confirmed ahead of the visit of the Ligue 1 side this weekend. Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.