This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
With Sunderand rocked by Ross Stewart's season-ending injury and Ellis Simms returning to Everton in January, all of a sudden Joe Gelhardt is being tasked with leading the Black Cats' attack for the remainder of the season.
The 20-year-old has shown his true potential in flashes at Leeds United in the last 18 months or so, but it seemed like a wise move for the Whites to send him to the second tier in pursuit of regular league starts in January.
Tony Mowbray has a number of mobile forwards at his disposal who will offer a lot in operating around Gelhardt, but given Simms and Stewart's goalscoring exploits, there is a risk that too much is asked of Gelhardt too soon.
We gathered the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers to see if they believe the 20-year-old is capable of filling Stewart's boots on Wearside...
Adam Jones
It may take him a short while to adapt to life at the Stadium of Light considering he hasn't been the most prolific figure at Leeds United this term.
With a decent amount of Premier League experience under his belt during the 2022/23 campaign though, he can certainly be an asset for the Black Cats and should find it slightly easier to score for the Wearside outfit, not just because he's playing at a lower level but also because he's set to win more regular starts.
Tony Mowbray has a good track record of working with young players and with this in mind, this loan deal has the potential to be a big success.
Considering Stewart's scoring rate this season though, registering ten goals and three assists in 13 league appearances, it will be a tall order for Gelhardt to match that.
Justin Peach
It would’ve been hoped that Gelhardt would be brought in to support Stewart as opposed to replace him.
Given the lack of first-team experience Gelhardt possesses, leading the line for the Black Cats could prove to be a lot for the youngster to handle in the initial weeks.
The normal process for a young loanee is to ease them in, but with Gelhardt, he will be thrown in at the deep end.
He has had that before, having played a key role in both Wigan’s attempt at Championship survival in 2019 and Leeds last season in the Premier League.
Whilst not prolific, he did prove to be important.
Whether he scores goals remains to be seen, but he will certainly add a focal point for Tony Mowbray and with the quality around him, he won’t be short of service.
He won’t offer the same physicality Stewart will offer, but he will give extra impetus in the final third, which is better than not having a striker at all.
Marcus Ally
It is very hard to compare the two in terms of the type of striker that they are.
Stewart is capable of matching the toughest of Championship centre backs physically, where Gelhardt will rely mainly on his pace to do so.
The Black Cats will need further output from Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts to have any chance of making the play-offs following Stewart's injury, because it is too much to ask of Gelhardt, to fill in and benefit the attacking contingent to the extent that the Scotsman did.
Mowbray is an inventive coach and will relish the challenge of looking to replace the threat that Stewart offered, but the chances are that he does not have the personnel to do so and Sunderland will fall towards mid table and the lower end of the play-off chasing pack.