5 perfect Lyndon Dykes upgrades QPR should look to sign this summer | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers striker Lyndon Dykes has struggled for form this season, scoring only four times and providing one assist in 37 games. He could be surplus to requirements at Loftus Road in the summer after his team's resurgence under Martí Cifuentes.

Signed from Scottish team Livingston in August 2020, Lyndon Dykes impressed QPR fans in his first season for the club. He scored 12 goals and provided five assists as Rangers finished in a respectable ninth place in the Championship under manager Mark Warburton – their best finish in the second tier since suffering relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.

The West London club have dramatically fallen off since, finishing the next season in 11th place, followed by a disastrous term in which they went from fifth place after 11 games played, to 20th place at the end of the campaign, only avoiding on relegation by five points.

Australia-born Scottish international Dykes saw his form take the same turn as that of his club over that period.

Since Cifuentes took over as Rangers manager in October following the sacking of Gareth Ainsworth, they have had a dramatic upturn in form, and have pulled away from the relegation zone.

The Scottish striker is not favoured by the Spaniard, having started only four of the last ten league games, with January signing Michael Frey often preferred up top.

The Daily Mail reported that Millwall had a £2 million bid rejected for the 28-year-old in January 2023 and that there was interest from Burnley, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers too.

1 Devante Cole

Devante Cole, son of former Manchester United legend Andy Cole, has been in fine goal-scoring form in each of the last two seasons.

The 28-year-old signed for Barnsley from Motherwell before the start of the 2021/22 season. He struggled in the Championship that season, scoring only one goal. However, since Barnsley were relegated to League One, he has scored over 30 goals and deserves another shot in the second tier.

With his contract running out in the summer, Cole could be a good budget option for QPR.

2 Viktor Đukanović

Viktor Đukanović was a regular fixture in Cifuentes' Hammarby side in the 2023 Allsvenskan season, where he was the third top goalscorer with 11 goals.

As a hybrid winger/striker, the 20-year-old offers something a bit different to Dykes. However, with his contract expiring in December 2027, Rangers may have to pay over the odds for the Montenegro international.

3 Koki Ogawa

Koki Ogawa is a 6"1' physically strong striker playing in the Eredivisie for NEC Nijmegen on loan from Japanese club Yokohama.

The Japanese international has hit the ground running in his first season in Europe, helping his club to an unlikely fifth place in the table so far.

At 26 years of age, Ogawa still has his peak ahead of him and coming from an often undervalued league, the Japanese international could be cheap.

4 Erik Engelhardt

Erik Engelhardt has done the hard yards in the lower leagues of German football to work his way up to the 2. Bundesliga.

Engelhardt, a former Germany youth international, scored 11 goals in the German third tier last season for VfL Osnabrück to help them get promoted.

A physical striker similar to Dykes, the 25-year-old is just short of his prime and could be a smart signing for the Hoops.

5 Liam Cullen

Liam Cullen is a shorter, more mobile striker than Dykes, with excellent movement and finishing.

The Welsh international came into his own when called upon for Swansea City this season. He scored a vital goal against the Swans' bitter rivals Cardiff City in March.

Despite being a lifelong Swansea fan, Cullen could be open to a move as his contract expires this summer. A good wage and assurances of minutes could be enough to bring him to Loftus Road.