Ex Chelsea and Everton star drops QPR contract hint

Former Chelsea and Everton shot-stopper Asmir Begovic took to social media on Saturday to share his love for QPR as his one-year deal at Loftus Road comes to an end.

The 36-year-old put pen to paper on a deal to spend a season with the Rs last summer and has been a permanent fixture in the Championship this season. Begovic has racked up 45 league appearances, only missing the final match of the season as Marti Cifuentes opted to give Joe Walsh a chance in between the sticks against Coventry City with Championship survival already confirmed.

Begovic, who racked up hundreds of appearances at Stoke City and AFC Bournemouth during his career, had come under fire at times this season when QPR struggled but left on a high with messages of support flooding in online. The goalkeeper has also been regularly backed by Cifuentes since the Catalonian took charge at Loftus Road.

Writing on X, Begovic said: "Today my 19th professional season officially came to an end.

"This season has been an incredible ride and super proud of the players and staff for sticking together and keeping this great club in the Championship. Looking forward to a well-earned rest and we go again!"

The head-turning post certainly suggests that Begovic isn't interested in hanging up his gloves with his determination to 'go again' even perhaps hinting at another season in London. talkSPORT indeed reports that the goalkeeper is 'open' to signing a new contract with QPR.

The outlet also adds that Begovic has emerged as a transfer target for Scottish Premiership giants Celtic. The Hoops could look to replace Joe Hart with the experienced Bosnian.

Speaking about Begovic in April, Cifuentes said: “I think that Asmir has been showing, as all the goalkeepers, it’s very easy to criticise the goalkeeper when they make one mistake, but instead we sometimes tend to forget, especially football fans, that Asmir was fantastic at Swansea for instance. We won 1-0, but he made two crucial saves in two crucial key moments.

"We won here at Hull a few months ago in a fantastic performance, again he saved the game for us. Those three points without him would have been impossible, absolutely. And today once again I said clearly that the big players show up on the big occasion, and I think that today he once again showed that his career is just good luck or whatever.

“He has been a top keeper playing at a top level for many years and today he showed once again that he is a very good keeper.”