Bristol City make surprise move for Queens Park Rangers defender | OneFootball

There could be significant changes to Queens Park Rangers' squad over the course of this coming summer as Gareth Ainsworth looks to put his own stamp on things.

The Hoops comfortanly survived in the end in the Championship after some late-season victories, but it was a season of disappointment overall as they finished just above the relegation zone.

Over the last few years, one of the R's most consistent stars has been defender Rob Dickie, but there was a noticeable drop-off in his performance levels overall in the 2022/23 season as for the most part his club struggled on the pitch.

Ahead of the January transfer window in 2022, Dickie was being eyed up by a number of Premier League clubs, including West Ham, Leeds United and Southampton according to The Athletic, but the defender remained at Loftus Road.

Some 18 months later though and Dickie could finally be on the move, but in perhaps a surprise development it is QPR's Championship rivals Bristol City who have made an approach for the centre-back.

The Robins are in talks with the R's to sign Dickie, according to Football Insider, with Nigel Pearson wanting to bolster the general quality of his back-line, and with Tomas Kalas also potentially departing this summer on a free transfer it means that depth may also be required.

What is Rob Dickie's situation at Queens Park Rangers?

Dickie signed for QPR back in September 2020 from Oxford United, penning a four-year deal in West London at the time.

With no contract extensions since, that means Dickie is going into the final year of his QPR contract before the 2023-24 season begins.

And with manager Gareth Ainsworth perhaps having his own ideas on how to build his squad for the upcoming campaign, Dickie could feasibly be cashed in on with it being the club's potential last chance to make a deal happen.

Would Rob Dickie be a good signing for Bristol City?

Dickie was touted as being a £10 million player a couple of years ago by QPR icon Kevin Gallen, so at the age of 27 it's hard to belive that he would be potentially moving to one of QPR's rivals in the Championship.

The towering defender won't have lost his ability overnight - yes, he had a relatively poor campaign in the last nine months but he was still a part of the defence at the start of the season that climbed its way to the top of the Championship.

Sometimes though it's time for a change of scenery and Bristol City clearly could do with some strengthening at the back - a partnership of Dickie and Rob Atkinson or Zak Vyner could be very solid and definitely a partnership that's capable of keeping many clean sheets.