Shocking Twist: These 3 QPR Stars Defied January Transfer Odds! Fans Stunned as Players…
The club were able to make some late-in-the-window moves, bringing in Isaac Hayden on loan from Newcastle United, and Joe Hodge from Wolverhampton Wanderers. They only brought in three players in total in the January window, with Swiss forward Michael Frey being signed from Royal Antwerp a few weeks prior.
This low level of activity, in terms of arrivals, doesn’t mean that they weren’t pursuing other options though. The Rs were reportedly looking at bringing in Crystal Palace winger Malcolm Ebiowei on loan, as per Darren Witcoop.
He’d previously had loan spells with Hull City and Derby County in the Championship. They also looked at bringing in Luton Town midfielder, and Scottish international, Allan Campbell, who is currently on loan at Millwall.
Money has been an issue at QPR for over a decade now, so managing their finances in transfer windows is always top of the priorities list. They were able to get some wages off their books by loaning out Andre Dozzell to Birmingham City, Charlie Kelman to Wigan Athletic, and Stephen Duke-McKenna to Sutton United.
QPR’s outgoings list was as short as their incoming, but there were a few players that we thought might depart Loftus Road by the time 2nd February rolled around.
The Morrocan winger was being watched closely by the team that had already taken a winger away from the Rs for the rest of the season: Birmingham. Tony Mowbray’s side reportedly submitted an offer for the QPR star, over a week before the window closed on 1st February, but it was swiftly declined, according to Witcoop.
The Blues didn’t return with another offer, deciding to pursue Alex Pritchard, who had only recently worked with Mowbray at Sunderland. Not only was it odd to see Birmingham not go back in for Chair, but there have been no reports suggesting that anybody else did either.
With the levels of production that he’s had over recent seasons, in a struggling QPR side, at best, it’s surely only a matter of time before a team comes in with a good offer for him; it was a surprise that that time didn’t come in the January window.