Bid 'accepted’ for QPR, Sheffield Wednesday & Portsmouth target as manager makes ‘financially positive’ claim

Marti Cifuentes, Manager of Queens Park Rangers during the Sky Bet Championship match between Norwich City FC and Queens Park Rangers FC at Carrow Road on December 29, 2024 in Norwich, England.Marti Cifuentes, Manager of Queens Park Rangers during the Sky Bet Championship match between Norwich City FC and Queens Park Rangers FC at Carrow Road on December 29, 2024 in Norwich, England.
Marti Cifuentes, Manager of Queens Park Rangers during the Sky Bet Championship match between Norwich City FC and Queens Park Rangers FC at Carrow Road on December 29, 2024 in Norwich, England. | Getty Images
A bid has been accepted for a QPR transfer target amid interest from Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth

Brisbane Roar boss Ruben Zadkovich says the A-League club have accepted a bid for in-demand and highly-rated striker Thomas Waddingham with the porposed deal a ‘financially positive’ one for his club.

It emerged earlier this week that Queens Park Rangers and their Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday had both submitted offers for Waddingham. According to The News in Portsmouth, Pompey are another club interested in the 19-year-old. However, Zadkovich refused to confirm which of the interested teams had managed to have their offer accepted.

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Waddingham has a contract with Brisbane until the summer of 2026. He has been widely praised in Australia after netting 15 goals in 40 games for the Roar, while providing two assists. The update on the player’s future came after he was left out of the Roar’s squad for their clash with Melbourne City on Saturday.

Zadkovich addresses Waddingham’s future

Asked if the striker’s omission from the squad was due to a potential move, Zadkovich said: “Yeah it is, those rumours are true. Like I’ve been saying for a few weeks, there’s been a lot of interest around Tommy – and rightly so. I’m not going to talk about the inner workings of that deal, but let’s just say it’s a positive for Tommy and his career and it’s a positive for our club financially.

Pushed on which club the player might be going too, the Roar boss insisted: “Look, there’s been a couple of offers to be honest and until it’s concrete, I’m not really going to comment on who that is.”

Speaking previously about the player’s qualities, Zadkovich said: “He’s that old-chool, proper number nine. He’s got so many areas he can improve and grow and I think he’s a massive asset to the club. We know that we’ve got an asset, we know that we’ve got a fantastic young player and you know we’ll keep working on developing him and bringing him to the top of the pile.”

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QPR boss on transfer plans

Michael Frey is QPR’s top scorer in the Championship with five goals while Jimmy Dunne has found the net four times this term. Sam Field and Rayan Kolli have three goals each. The Loftus Road club are nine points above the bottom three but have scored just 29 goals in their 26 games so far. A new striker to bolster their attacking options is something that could further ease any relegation concerns.

Addressing the club’s transfer plans, QPR boss Marti Cifuentes said last month: “We have a good plan. We know how difficult it is, not only for QPR but for many clubs in this league.

“We know how the market is, things can change very quickly. We have good players, there might be interest in them but at the same time, the same as all of the clubs in the world, we might have an interest in trying, if possible, to improve our squad but this is nothing new. We will continue to work in a calm way to try and get the best from the squad. I knew what the picture was before I arrived at QPR and that is about getting the best of it.”

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