Next QPR Manager: New frontrunner emerges after ex Norwich City boss rejects club
A fresh candidate has emerged as a contender to take the hotseat at QPR next season.
QPR are yet to resolve the managerial fracas hanging over Loftus Road and appear to have been handed a setback by being rejected by former Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup.
The R’s put current head coach Marti Cifuentes on ‘gardening leave’ before the final game of the Championship season against Sunderland. The 42-year-old had reportedly sent representatives to hold talks with West Brom over a move to The Hawthorns. A month on from that fixture, which QPR won 1-0 at the Stadium of Light to end the 2024/25 campaign, and there is still no resolution.
Cifuentes could still technically return to lead QPR next season, having only been temporarily removed from his post, but that looks an almost impossible conclusion to the saga. Several managers have been linked with the job at Loftus Road, including former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil and Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason.
Johannes Hoff Thorup rejects QPR
It was then former Norwich City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup who seemed the most likely candidate to take over from Cifuentes. The 36-year-old was sacked by the Canaries in April and favours a style of play similar to that of Cifuentes.
Scandinavian football specialists Tipsbladet claimed that the Dane had held ‘several’ talks with QPR over becoming head coach. Those conversations were said to have included a face-to-face meeting.
In a new update on Thorup’s future, the same outlet has claimed that the manager has rejected the chance to take over at QPR, deciding that the opportunity isn’t for him. That has seen a new frontrunner emerge to replace Cifuentes.
Julian Stéphan linked with Loftus Road job
That is former Rennes boss Julien Stéphan. The 44-year-old former midfielder was sacked by the Ligue 1 outfit in November 2024 having lost five of the side’s opening 10 league games. Stéphan spent one year in that post, which was his second stint with the club following a spell between 2018 and 2021.
Rennes missed European qualification for the first time in seven years following the 2023/24 season, finishing the division in 10th. Between his spells at Rennes, Stéphan spent a year and a half with Strasbourg, where he secured a first top six finish for the club since 1980.
Stéphan had been touted as a candidate to lead the France under-21 side following Thierry Henry’s departure but that role was ultimately filled by Gérald Baticle. The manager is the son of Guy Stéphan, who currently works as an assistant for the French national side. The 68-year-old previously worked at Lyon, Bordeaux and was in charge of the Senegal national team, among other roles.
Stéphan is not the first Frenchman to be linked with a move to QPR. Former Lyon manager Pierre Sage had been a strong contender but the 46-year-old is now expected to replace new Southampton man Will Still at Lens in Ligue 1.
In other news, Pundit tells Sheffield United to wrap up 'solid' QPR transfer amid 'talks'.