SUNDERLAND are on the verge of signing Leeds United striker Joe Gelhardt after pushing their way to the front of the queue for the in-demand youngster.

The 20-year-old looks set for a medical on Wearside on Friday ahead of finalising a loan move to the Stadium of Light.

There'll be no option for the Black Cats to make the deal permanent in the summer, with Gelhardt still firmly in Leeds' plans for the future.

But the loan capture will be a major boost for Tony Mowbray and Sunderland, who identified a striker as the January transfer priority when Ellis Simms was recalled by Everton at the start of the month.

Sunderland had hoped that Simms could return to the Stadium of Light before Tuesday's deadline but the current managerial uncertainty at Goodison Park has complicated matters, prompting the Black Cats to look elsewhere.

Gelhardt has been on their radar throughout the month but the young striker last week looked set to return to Wigan Athletic, where he burst through as an academy product before leaving for Leeds.

But that deal wasn't finalised, and Sunderland pounced, making a late push for the youngster, their case helped by several factors.

Mowbray's reputation for developing young talent strengthened Sunderland's hand, with Amad Diallo's progression on Wearside the latest example of a talented youngster flourishing under the watch of the Black Cats chief. Harvey Elliott previously thrived under Mowbray at Blackburn and has since established himself as a Liverpool first team player. Those examples were noted by those in charge at Elland Road.

Sunderland are also able to offer Gelhardt the chance to be involved in a push for promotion in the second half of the season, whereas Wigan are rock bottom and still without a win under Kolo Toure. Another factor that perhaps influenced the decision is the fact Gelhardt's best friend at Leeds is Sam Greenwood, a Sunderland fan and former player, who still lives in the area.

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Gelhardt will arrive at Sunderland ready to be thrust straight into action, having featured in 15 Premier League games this season. He's very highly rated at Elland Road but the club-record capture of Georginio Rutter this month pushed the Liverpudlian down the pecking order, and the Whites are keen for the youngster to be playing regular senior football in the second half of the season, rather than sitting on their bench or playing for the Under-21s.

It will be Gelhardt's first loan spell and Leeds hope he returns in the summer ready to kick on. In his programme notes for the weekend game against Brentford, Leeds' chief executive Angus Kinnear wrote: "We believe that being more active in loaning out our emerging talent will be important in ultimately accelerating their ability to contribute to our first team.

“Harry Kane had four different loan spells before he became England's best striker and Championship experience is a significant step up from competing in Premier League 2."

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In his press conference yesterday, Mowbray was quizzed on the club's attempts to sign a striker, saying: “We will hopefully get one or potentially two in to help Ross.

"With what's going on at Everton, it looks pretty unlikely that Ellis will be coming back - they haven't got a manager and if I was going in there, I'd want to see all the players on the grass and see if they might be able to help. That looks like a really tight thing to rely on, because he might well not come back.”

In an ideal world, Sunderland would also like to bring in a young striker on a permanent deal ahead of the deadline, with the youngster given the chance to spend the second half of the season settling in, while Gelhardt provides much-needed cover and competition for top scorer Stewart.