Comparisons between Leeds United’s rising star Joe Gelhardt and a young Wayne Rooney go beyond their Liverpool roots.
‘Joffy’ Gelhardt has the same build, dribbling ability and fearlessness that first made Rooney a star and is also represented by his management agency.
‘Very few players stand out at 14. Steven Gerrard did in my first season, Rooney and certainly Joe,’ says long-time Merseyside Boys’ manager Tim Wyatt. ‘I remember him turning up for our trial looking Rooneyesque. He scored three in 10 minutes on a cold and rainy night, so I said he could go home to keep warm because he’d already made the team.