The 20-year-old centre forward is highly rated at Leeds and in the winter transfer window, Gelhardt signed on loan with Sunderland in the hope of regular game time.
Gelhardt, who is looking for regular game time, has made three outings for Mowbray’s side so far this season but has yet to find the back of the net.
However, Mowbray is confident that Gelhardt will soon be on the scoresheet for the Black Cats and believes that the forward just needs to understand the way Sunderland play.
Mowbray pointed out that it is a challenge for a young player like Gelhardt to play frequently for Sunderland after spending the first part of the season as a fringe player at Leeds.
The Sunderland boss believes that Gelhardt is a very talented player and stressed that the Leeds loanee has a brilliant work rate with a fine left foot.
“He will score goals for us”, Mowbray was quoted saying by Chronicle Live.
“He’s a kid who’s played ten minutes here and ten minutes there for Leeds United.
“He’s hardly played 90 minutes, which is why I was taking him off ready for Saturday so he can give us another hour or 70 minutes.
“Yet he’s strong as an ox, he works his socks off, and he has a rocket in his left foot.
“He’ll score goals, he’s a really talented boy.
“He just needs to understand how our team plays and the demands on him, because he is a young boy who has always been behind [Patrick] Bamford and all these foreign Premier League players at Leeds.
“He was getting ten minutes here and there, so for him to come into our team and be asked to play 70, 80, 90 minutes every three days is a huge ask for the kid.”
Sunderland will next welcome Bristol City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday and Gelhardt will be eager to grab his first goal in a Black Cats shirt in front of the home crowd.
