QPR racing Sunderland and Hull City for 'top' Premier League talent

QPR are believed to be competing against several Championship opponents to sign Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on a loan deal for the upcoming second tier season.

That's according to transfer specialist Alan Nixon, who names the R's as an interested party in the player's services alongside Sunderland, Stoke City, Luton Town, Blackburn Rovers and Hull City.

The winger position looks set to be a key area of recruitment for Marti Cifuentes this summer as he prepares for a first full season in charge at Loftus Road. Right winger Chris Willock looks set to leave the club as a free agent this summer with no new deal yet agreed, while there remain question marks over the future of Ilias Chair on the opposite flank.

The arrival of Rak-Sakyi would certainly bolster the QPR squad, with the 21-year-old able to play on either wing. He made six Premier League appearances last term, all coming before November in a season ravaged by a hamstring injury.

Rak-Sakyi had returned to the matchday squad by the end of the season under Oliver Glasner but could be allowed to leave Selhurst Park in search of more experience on a loan move next term. The winger was a target for Blackburn Rovers and Hull City last season but stayed at Crystal Palace with then Eagles manager Roy Hodgson deciding the rising star was needed as part of the squad.

Speaking about the player after his efforts in a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last October, Hodgson said: "I was delighted for him. He came back from a very successful loan spell. There were a lot of clubs interested in taking him again.

"I had to fight with him a little bit to persuade him that if he really wants to be a Premier League player he is in the best place and chances will come, and today he got that chance and I think he took it extremely well."

After that match, teammate Marc Guéhi also praised the winger, labelling him ‘a top player with great potential’.

Rak-Sakyi was initially part of the Chelsea academy before moving across the capital to join the Crystal Palace set-up in 2019. He spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Charlton Athletic in League One.

That proved a particularly fruitful loan spell with the winger making 49 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and picking up nine assists, as he was named Supporters' Player of the Year.