QPR must let Blackburn Rovers win race for 'red flag' marquee signing - opinion

QPR have this week been linked with making the marquee signing of RKC Waalwijk striker Oskar Zawada in a bid to add some much needed firepower to Marti Cifuentes’ squad in West London.

On the surface, that’s welcome news for QPR supporters, who have been without a prolific striker for several seasons. The last time a player hit a double digit goal tally for the side was Andre Gray in the 2021/22 Championship season - and that was only 10. Lyndon Dykes managed 12 the season prior and Eberechi Eze bagged 14 the year previous to that but no player has hit 20 goals in a single campaign for QPR since Andy Thomson in 2002.

While Cifuentes has brought a lot of positivity to Loftus Road with his calm manner and trust in youth, the work he has done along with the board for transfer incomings has been questionable, especially in the striker role. Michael Frey arrived in January 2024 and Zan Celar followed in July.

QPR striker signings struggle for goals

Frey is a sound finisher and offers a physicality but lacks the consistency to be the number one goalscorer for QPR. The 30-year-old has nine goals in 36 appearances so far. Meanwhile, Celar has just two goals for the club in 22 appearances over an injury-plagued first campaign.

On paper, both of those looked to be decent signings. Celar plundered a huge 21 goals for FC Lugano in Switzerland last term and Frey had managed seven in 14 Jupiler Pro League outings for Royal Antwerp in Belgium in 2022.

However, the Championship is a different beast to these European leagues. Just because a striker can bag on the continent, does not mean it will translate into the physical dog-eat-dog nature of the second tier. That’s a lesson that QPR should have learnt by now, which makes links with Zawada come as somewhat of a red flag.

Again, the forward appears to have the characteristics to make an impact. The 29-year-old has 11 goals across all competitions for RKC Waalwijk in the Netherlands and SoccerNews claims that Blackburn Rovers and Oxford United are also looking at the player, who only arrived at the club from New Zealand outfit Wellington Phoenix last summer.

Marti Cifuentes reason for optimism with Alfie Lloyd and Rayan Kolli

Zawada has also played at Wolfsburg and Twente FC but is perhaps not the profile QPR should be looking at, having already taken that risk twice recently. Despite lacking a prolific bagsman, there is reason for optimism in that position with youngsters Rayan Kolli and Alfie Lloyd showing plenty of promise.

That duo could be the future for QPR, and not just in distant seasons, but from the next campaign. Relying solely on the 20 and 21-year-old would be foolish but the R’s should look at bringing in a proven Championship goalscorer to take some of the burden, and show those rising stars what it takes to make an impact on the league.

Finding one of those is easier said than done, but should not be impossible. Cardiff City forward Yakou Meite is out of contract this summer and has 47 career goals in the Championship and so is 43-goal Ashley Barnes - while those players are likely not the answer, it is perhaps more that profile that should be occupying the attention of QPR.

In other news, this is how QPR fare in a new predicted Championship table with big relegation and promotion calls made.