£4m for Bobby Zamora: How QPR transfer eventually led to Premier League gold again | OneFootball

Bobby Zamora joined Queens Park Rangers from Fulham in 2012 and left a lasting impact on the club.

Bobby Zamora joined Queens Park Rangers in January 2012 from London rivals Fulham, and would go on to have a lasting impact at the club.

Prior to his Loftus Road switch, Zamora had played for three other London clubs in Spurs, West Ham United and Fulham respectively, making 301 appearances, scoring 78 goals and grabbing 48 assists in all competitions across each club.

Zamora, who had been capped by the England national team twice without scoring, had been a regular fixture in the first and second tiers before landing at QPR.

He started in the 2011 Europa League final for Fulham against Atlético Madrid under then-manager Roy Hodgson, which the Cottagers would go on to lose 2-1 courtesy of two goals from Uruguayan forward Diego Forlán, including one in extra-time.

After five goals and five assists in the first half of the 2011/12 season for Fulham, Zamora was gathering interest from other clubs in the Premier League.

Bobby Zamora joined Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League as a 31-year-old

QPR agreed a deal worth £4 million in January 2012 for two-time-capped England international Zamora, with R's manager Mark Hughes keen to link back up with the forward he had worked with at the Cottagers.

The club was in a relegation battle, and brought in a then-31-year-old Zamora that January alongside the likes of Djibril Cissé, Nedem Onuoha and Federico Macheda respectively to bolster the squad.

The R's narrowly survived in 17th place in that 2011/12 season, just one point above Bolton Wanderers who were relegated, with Zamora scoring twice in 14 appearances in the second half of that term.

The season after, however, QPR would be relegated in last place in the Premier League, with Hughes having been sacked in November. Zamora played only 21 times in the Premier League that season, scoring four times and assisting once.

Upon their relegation, Harry Redknapp was tasked with firing the R's back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, bringing in Charlie Austin for £4 million from Burnley, whilst Andy Johnson and Will Keane offered alternatives up top.

QPR would finish the season in fourth place, missing out on automatic promotion by 13 points with Burnley and Leicester going up automatically.

However, they defeated Wigan Athletic 2-1 over two play-off semi-final legs to book a place in the final at Wembley Stadium, and what ensued on that fateful day was nothing short of remarkable.

Queens Park Rangers will always remember Bobby Zamora's Wembley heroics

QPR faced Derby County in the play-off final, and with the scores locked at 0-0 as the hour mark approached, Zamora replaced Kevin Doyle up top.

Gary O'Neil would receive a straight red card following a challenge on Jonny Russell in the 60th minute, who was bearing down on goal, making QPR's job that much more difficult.

The R's would continue to hold off Derby admirably however, and in the 91st minute, Junior Hoilett's cross wasn't dealt with properly by Richard Keogh, whose tame clearance fell straight into the path of Zamora.

In one swift moment, Zamora fired QPR into the Premier League, ​placing the ball past a helpless Lee Grant in the Derby goal to give QPR the lead in the dying seconds, and gave R's fans a moment to cherish for a lifetime.

QPR earned an estimated £80 million after achieving promotion - it would be safe to suggest that the £4 million QPR paid for Zamora two-and-a-half-years prior was worth it in the long-term.

Zamora would regularly feature in the Premier League following promotion the following season, making 31 league appearances, scoring three goals and assisting a further four as QPR were relegated again.

The Englishman left the club at the end of the season to rejoin Brighton in the Championship, and he would help the Seagulls to a third-place finish by scoring seven times and providing two assists in 26 second tier outings.

However, Albion would lose to Sheffield Wednesday over two play-off semi-final legs, and following that defeat, Zamora would retire in the December of 2016.