2 former QPR players who would fit perfectly into the current XI | OneFootball

It has been a decent season for Queens Park Rangers in the Championship so far.

Despite a run of five games without a win heading into the World Cup break, the R’s currently sit seventh in the table, level with sixth-placed Millwall.

But the Hoops suffered a huge blow on Monday when manager Michael Beale left the club to join Rangers. The 42-year-old had only been appointed at Loftus Road in June in what was his first managerial role, but the excellent job he was doing in West London was attracting attention from other clubs. He turned down the job at Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in October and despite professing his loyalty and commitment to QPR, departed to take over at Rangers, where he was previously assistant to Steven Gerrard.

The R’s will now begin their search for a new boss and they will be hopeful of having someone in place by the time their Championship season resumes against Burnley in December.

Whoever replaces Beale will be inheriting a club in a good league position and a talented squad, but will likely want to assess what he has available and strengthen in January.

But of those players who have plied their trade at Loftus Road previously, who would the next manager loved to have had in their squad?

Quiz: 10 of these 25 QPR facts are fake – Can you identify them?

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QPR were founded in 1872

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Eberechi Eze

Eze is arguably one of the most exciting players to have played for the club in recent years.

The 24-year-old made his debut for the R’s in January 2017 and went on to score 20 goals in 112 appearances for the club.

But it was in the 2019-20 season where Eze really made an impact, playing every league game and scoring 14 goals, attracting interest from Premier League clubs.

He made the move to Crystal Palace in August 2020 and despite an injury-disrupted spell at Selhurst Park, Eze has starred for the Eagles.

His impressive form has enabled him to establish himself as a regular in Patrick Vieira’s side and it has been no different this season, featuring in each of their 14 Premier League games so far and contributing with two goals.

Given Eze played for England at youth level, it seems likely that it will not be too long before Gareth Southgate recognises him at senior level.

While the R’s do boast a number of exciting attacking options currently, adding Eze to the likes of Ilias Chair and Chris Willock would give them an incredible threat and creativity.

Andre Gray

Perhaps one of the biggest misses for QPR this season has been someone who they were unable to bring back in the summer.

Gray spent last season on loan at Loftus Road from Watford and finished as the club’s top scorer, with 10 goals in 30 appearances.

The 31-year-old has been prolific at second tier level for Brentford and Burnley previously, including scoring 23 for the Clarets on the way to promotion in the 2015-16 season.

He now plays for Greek side Aris, where his clinical finishing has been on display again with 10 goals in 17 games so far this season.

While Lyndon Dykes is having a good season with six goals to his name so far, he has been a little inconsistent since his move from Livingston. Tyler Roberts only has one league goal after joining on loan from Leeds United and Macauley Bonne has been out-of-favour, so it leaves the Hoops short of quality options up front.

With goalscorers difficult to find, the next manager would have surely loved to have someone with Gray’s track record.