QPR set to miss out on transfer target as League Two club swoop
Experienced centre-back Aden Flint is surprisingly set to sign for Mansfield Town despite being eyed up by the R’s
The defensive crisis that Queens Park Rangers are going through ahead of the start of the 2023-24 Championship season is incredibly desperate, and they could be set to begin the campaign with untested youngsters at the back.
Having sold Rob Dickie to divisional rivals Bristol City early on in the summer transfer window, QPR were left with just Jake Clarke-Salter and Jimmy Dunne as part of their central defensive options, with a clear need to add to them.
22-year-old Joe Gubbins is also in the squad but with just one Championship appearance to his name, it was clear that additions were needed.
And desperation has grown even more in the last week, with Dunne stretchered off in QPR’s final friendly match against Oxford United and Clarke-Salter missing most of pre-season through injury, leaving just Gubbins is likely going to be partnered by new signing Morgan Fox.
Whilst his most utilised position is left-back or the left-hand side of a back three, Fox is likely going to line up next to Gubbins in a back four – something which is not ideal for manager Gareth Ainsworth whatsoever.
It hasn’t been for the want of trying though, but for whatever reason the Hoops have not been able to land a new out-and-out centre-back for a back four.
What is the latest on QPR’s pursuit of a defender?
The Athletic reported earlier in the week that Peterborough United’s Josh Knight was on the verge of a £300,000 move to Loftus Road, having played under Ainsworth at Wycombe Wanderers before.
However, the R’s pulled the plug on the deal for undisclosed reasons, leaving Ainsworth without a proven Championship centre-back ahead of the trip to Watford on Saturday.
Other targets have included Wycombe’s Chris Forino and Nottingham Forest’s Steve Cook, according to Darren Witcoop of the Sunday Mirror, with Jack Whatmough also on their list following his Wigan Athletic departure but he opted to sign for Preston North End.
One other name linked was that of Aden Flint, who has plied his trade in the Championship for a number of years for Bristol City, Middlesbrough, Cardiff City, Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke.
The 34-year-old ended last season with Wednesday in League One though, yet was still a target for Ainsworth and QPR this summer – it now looks as though the R’s have lost out on yet another potential signing though in Aden Flint.
Who is Aden Flint signing for?
According to Football Insider, Flint will instead drop down to League Two for the first time since playing for Swindon Town 11 years ago and will sign for Mansfield.
Nigel Clough has been strengthening the Stags squad ahead of another play-off push, having finished narrowly a place outside of the top seven of the fourth tier of English football last season, and Flint would add plenty of experience to his back-line at Field Mill.
But it will be a huge blow to QPR if he was a serious target as he would have provided the experience needed in the short-term to get Ainsworth and co through the next month or two before becoming a backup option.
The West London outfit will now have to move onto the next option available to them – and they are perhaps running out with clubs aiming to get a lot of their business done before this weekend.
