Rovers are in negotiations with Leeds United over a potential loan deal for Joe Gelhardt.

The club are looking to progress with deals in the third week of the January transfer window.

Gelhardt is one live target that Rovers are looking to bring in as talks remain ongoing.

Much of that will focus on a financial package that his parent club will agree to before sanctioning his release.

The expectation is that Gelhardt will feature for Leeds in their FA Cup third round replay with Cardiff City on Wednesday night.

He came off the bench in the Premier League defeat to Aston Villa for what was his 17th appearance of the season and has been around Jesse Marsch’s squad all season.

However, the arrival of club record signing Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim is expected to free Gelhardt up for a loan move after that.

The 20-year-old would fit Jon Dahl Tomasson’s brief of a versatile attacker given he can play all across the front line.

However,  finances and game-time assurance, as well as interest from a host of other Championship clubs, won’t make any deal straightforward.

Gelhardt is under contract at Leeds until 2027 and his current salary means there would need to be a significant compromise on the part of the Premier League club for a deal to be reached.

Rovers negotiated with Leeds in the summer of 2021 for a season-long loan deal for Ian Poveda.

That didn’t include a break clause which meant Rovers were unable to cut short the deal for the attacker despite him being out for five months due to an ankle ligament injury.

At the time, former manager Tony Mowbray said not having such a clause was a necessity to get the deal done.

And given the interest in Gelhardt, Leeds’ hand is strong when it comes to the negotiation table.

The departure of George Hirst however has freed up wages in Rovers’ budget to aid their search for reinforcements.

The club were understood to be covering around two-thirds of Hirst’s salary at Leicester.

Rovers are hoping to progress with at least one deal this week, but head coach Tomasson said that isn’t simply a response to the 4-0 defeat at Rotherham United.

“I don’t look at the result and think we need signings. I’ve said from the beginning that we should not waste a transfer window. The result and the transfer market are separate,” Tomasson said.

“The result and performance was very poor, but we also do need to bring players in to help the group and increase the quality and depth in the squad.”

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