Lamps keeping eye on Gelhardt
CHELSEA have joined the queue of elite English clubs chasing Wigan starlet Joe Gelhardt.
The England youngster,
17, has made seven league appearances for the Championship strugglers this term – all from the bench.
And striker Gelhardt’s emergence is attracting attention from the all of the Premier League’s big boys – with Frank Lampard’s Blues the latest top-flight outfit to express their interest.
Manchester United and City, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham have also been monitoring the rapid development of the exciting teenage talent.
However, the chances of any of them getting their hands on the forward – who has scored once this season – in the January window appear slim.
Wigan, despite being just above the drop zone in the second tier, are under no pressure to sell as the club’s finances are in relatively healthy order.
And they announced yesterday that England
Under-18s skipper Gelhardt has signed a new deal to further underline that position.
Having joined Wigan at the age of 10, Gelhardt made his first-team debut for Latics at 16.
At the moment, the club value their prize asset at around £5million, with potential add-ons to follow.
Liverpool first became aware of Gelhardt in an FA Youth Cup tie against Wigan in February – and appear to hold the edge in the race given he was born and raised a Reds fan.
But Chelsea also have strong links with the Latics.
Blues right-back Reece James spent last season on loan at the DW Stadium while another of their young defenders, Dujon Sterling, 20, is with Paul Cook’s men this term. bench a few times, been in a few squads and that’s made it all the more sweet, more special.
“I’ll never forget that feeling when I was waiting to come on – that was a special feeling.
“I’m going to see my family now and there will be smiles across all of their faces.”
The fact Maddison had to wait a couple of minutes inbetween stripping down to his kit and coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain only added to the sense of occasion for the Leicester star.
And when the final whistle sounded, there was no way he was going to hand over his jersey to the member of Montenegro manager Faruk Hadzibegic’s backroom staff who asked for it.
“You’d have had to fight me to get that off me,” he added, laughing. “As I was waiting