Guessing QPR’s transfer activity under Mark Hughes

Okay, so Tony Fernandes is pretty confident that he’ll have his man by the end of today apparently, which will give Mark Hughes 21 days to reshape his squad and equip it for Premier League survival. Who’s staying, who’s going, and who’s coming in.

Neil Warnock hasn’t built a bad squad, but it’s deficient in a couple of places – and his late August transfer activity retrospectively looks erratic. Shaun Wright-Philips was a good signing, as was Joey Barton, but I’ve never been a great fan of either Anton Ferdinand or Danny Gabbidon – and Armand Traore is beginning to show why Arsene Wenger is so keen to keep him away from the Emirates.

The first point of call for Mark Hughes is the forward line. Jay Bothroyd, DJ Campbell, Heidur Helguson, and Tommy Smith are not going to get enough goals at this level – Helguson is probably the best of all of them, and excellent in the air, but Smith has never been a Premier League player, Campbell is too erratic, and Bothroyd isn’t an out-and-out goalscorer.

So what’s available? Well, while Tony Fernandes’ pockets aren’t bottomless, he could certainly persuade Roman Pavlyuchenko to swap White Hart Lane for Loftus Road. The Russian is actually absurdly talented, but has always suffered from a lack of continued selection – He’s a goalscorer, he’s an international, and would definitely be allowed to leave Tottenham.

With Hughes’ arrival in West London, the chances of seeing Junior Hoilett and Christopher Samba at Loftus Road have just tripled. Hughes bought Samba to Blackburn in 2007 from Hertha Berlin, and it’s unlikely that the player would reject the chance to leave Ewood Park and rejoin his former manager. Hoilett’s the same – desperate for an exit, and available for under £10m. There’ll be competition for both, but I’d be staggered if they didn’t feature on Hughes’ wanted list.

QPR will mainly shop in England, because this isn’t the time or the place to take risks on foreign players who may need lengthy adjustment periods. Anybody coming in needs to have played and proved themselves in the Premier League.

With Alejandro Faurlin out for the rest of the season, you would imagine that Mark Hughes will look to bring in another central midfielder. Players that can make an impact from that position – and who are available – are fairly thin on the ground, but somebody like Niko Krancjar might be a good fit; an elegant ball-player with a lot to give a side.

Adel Taarabt is almost definitely on his way out; Rangers can’t afford to indulge him anymore, and actually the longer they keep him the more his value depreciates. Take the money and move on, as talented as he is, he’s not a player equipped to deal with English football – let him go and play his own self-indulgent game somewhere else.

Additionally, I’d be surprised if some of the deadwood in that squad is still there come February 1st; Tommy Smith, Clint Hill, Shaun Derry, Danny Gabbidon – those aren’t names synonymous with Premier League survival

It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks, and it will also show us dedicated Tony Fernandes is to Rangers. Expect a lot of activity, a lot of rumours, and hopefully a significant upgrade to the squad.

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