"A great bit of business" - QPR urged to pursue West Brom player this summer | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Marti Cifuentes has improved Queens Park Rangers in many different ways, but it is their defence which has been the most solid area of the team since his appointment.

Following his arrival in late October, and after a poor start to the season under Gareth Ainsworth when they looked one of the favourites for relegation, Cifuentes' side have turned things around and look to be within only a few points of safety with just three games to go.

Under Cifuentes, QPR have improved in many areas and look like a side improving rapidly, despite a small dip in form during late December and early January, but is is the defence that has showed the most signs of improvement.

Earlier in the campaign, Ainsworth opted for a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2 system for the most part, which saw Paul Smyth deployed as right-sided wing-back, but since Cifuentes' switch to a back four, he has chopped and changed to find the right balance on the right-hand side.

With safety almost assured, the club can begin planning for next term, and how they operate in the market will have a big say on whether they can look up the table as opposed to down it in 2024/25.

Free agents are always an avenue worth exploring for second tier sides, and QPR will be looking for defenders, in spite of recent improvements in that department. Steve Cook will be 33 next season, ann there remains uncertainty regarding the future of Jake Clarke-Salter as he has been linked with a whole host of clubs recently.

QPR fan pundit urges Hoops to go after West Brom's Cedric Kipre

Football League World's Queens Park Rangers fan pundit, Louis Moir, hopes that his side look at West Bromwich Albion's Cedric Kipre in the summer, with the experienced defender out of contract.

Louis told FLW: "There's going to be plenty of players out of contract this summer in the Championship, including with us and we've obviously got a few that we'll be offloading.

"If you're looking at players that could come in and do a job, and there will obviously be a lot of clubs sniffing around the free agents, but of the players that could be available, I think that Cedric Kipre could be an option.

"There's been rumours of Jake Clarke-Salter leaving, and with his good form there's bigger clubs looking at him. "So, we may need to add another defender or two in the summer. If Kipre became available on a free transfer, then I think that would be a great bit of business. "I've always liked what I have seen of him, even when he was at Wigan. I thought he was too good to be at a team who were struggling a lot. "He's obviously got his move to West Brom and has been a solid part of their team and they are doing really well. "He's a good age at 27 as well, and is a really solid centre-half at this level, and although our defence has improved massively with Steve Cook and Clarke-Salter and Jimmy Dunne going into right-back, maybe sometimes we miss that massive lump of a centre-back that can clear things up when put under pressure late on.

"I like him but, obviously, there will be a lot of clubs after him if he is available on a free, because of how well he has done at West Brom, but also the very nature of the number of clubs going for free transfers."

Cedric Kipre's 2023/24 season for West Brom

In some ways, the signing makes a lot of sense, given that Kipre is a defence-first centre-back, capable of imposing himself well physically in both boxes.

His combative and aggressive defensive style would suit Cifuentes, who is a coach that has improved QPR out of possession more than anything else, much like Carlos Corberan has with West Brom.

However, the likely stumbling block will be that Kipre could easily have offers at the upper reaches of the Championship, or even in the lower-half of the Premier League, making QPR a difficult side to envisage him signing for.

There is also the option of staying at The Hawthorns, and given the impressive season he has had in Carlos Corberan's back-line, there's every chance he could sign a new deal in the Midlands.