QPR 'agree fee and personal terms' for 'brilliant' London-born Ligue 1 player

QPR are said to be looking to add to their haul of summer signings after their opening day defeat to West Brom. The Hoops fell to a 3-1 home defeat to the Baggies, who will have promotion ambitions this season.

A number of new signings featured in the game, including Jonathan Varane, Paul Nardi and Zan Celar, with as many as 10 players snapped up by Marti Cifuentes so far this summer. But reports suggest that the Hoops are not done there, with another new target reportedly being identified.

According to L’Equipe, former Celtic man Karamoko Dembélé is now of interest, with the South London-born winger struggling to impress with current club Stade Brestois, commonly known as Brest. The 21-year-old joined the French club after leaving Celtic in 2022, making 16 league appearances since. He made just eight league appearances with Celtic.

Dembélé spent last season on loan with Blackpool, scoring a very respectable eight goals in 39 league appearances from out wide, missing only seven league games all season. Now, according to the report, QPR are the most likely club to land the young winger this summer and it’s said that the player has already agreed to make the move to Loftus Road.

The report suggests a deal worth €2m (£1.7m) including bonuses has been agreed between the two clubs and a deal is likely to be concluded soon. The report, as highlights by SportWitness, adds that Dembélé’s time at Brest is ‘definitely over’ and that QPR are looking set to land their man as they look for a replacement for Chris Willock, who left on a free transfer to join Cardiff City.

Critchley verdict

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said of Dembélé back in March: “He’s never played this much football in his life, and I know he enjoys being here and in this group.

"He’s been a real top performer for us this season, so I’m hoping he can be a decisive player for us in some big games between now and the end of the campaign. We obviously want to keep good players and bring them to the football club- Kaddy is obviously one of them, but it’s not always us and what we want, players and agents have their thoughts and ideas as well. It goes without saying, if we could then he’s the type of player we’d love to have.

"He’s a brilliant footballer, I love watching him play. He’s exciting, he’s something different in this league. He’s really courageous, he takes the ball into any area of the pitch and backs himself- he’s got real bravery. He’s a lovely boy and is great to work with. He produced the moments of quality that won us the game. We have to play a certain way for him, and on Tuesday we didn’t, so he got lost in the game. We have to be a team that plays football. If we want to develop young exciting players then we’ve got to give them the ball, because if it’s going over their head all of the time then it’s a waste. You’ve got to play a certain way, while also respecting what this league is about and doing the basics well.”