QPR hit the jackpot with £60k signing that landed them £1.5m transfer payday | OneFootball

The R’s secured a brilliant bargain buy when paying £60k for Peter Crouch.

Queens Park Rangers handed young striker Peter Crouch his first full season in English football when signing him from Tottenham Hotspur.

At just 19, Crouch had failed to play a competitive game for Spurs after coming through the youth ranks in North London, undertaking loan spells with Dulwich Hamlet in the Isthmian Premier League and IFK Hassleholm in Sweden.

Despite not hitting the ground running in the early stages of his footballing journey, the R’s decided to take a punt on Crouch, acquiring the frontman for a reported fee of £60,000, with former Spurs boss Gerry Francis using his connections while in the Loftus Road hotseat.

While it was a risky signing at the time, the club would end up making a significant profit from their original investment, with Crouch hitting his stride for the Hoops in the First Division and showcasing the talents that would ultimately set him up for a very successful and lengthy career in the game.

Peter Crouch’s instant impact at QPR

Many QPR supporters wouldn’t have held high expectations for what Peter Crouch could bring to the table in 2000, given his early struggles at Tottenham, but the 6'7" in powerhouse demonstrated his potential by being a regular source of goals in the First Division.

The now 44-year-old would make an early impact, netting his first goal for the club in a 2-2 draw against Gillingham. After getting on the goalscoring trail, regular starts would follow, which undoubtedly boosted his confidence levels.

Gaining the trust to lead the line, Crouch repaid the faith by getting on the scoresheet against Wimbledon, Bolton, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, as well as netting a brace in a clash with Sheffield Wednesday before the turn of the year.

The goals would dry up slightly in 2001 with just three scored over that time period, meaning Crouch would end up netting 10 times. It wasn’t enough to secure the R’s safety though, as they suffered relegation to the Second Division.

To break into double figures at the age of 19 in his first full English season was an incredible achievement, with this spell spurring him on to be a regular goalscoring menace that would see him represent his country.

QPR would go on to make a healthy profit from Peter Crouch investment

As with any relegation, significant cuts have to be made and that certainly was the case for QPR as they prepared to play in the third tier.

With diminished finances, the West London outfit had to sell some of their best players, and Crouch would head towards the exit door after such an impressive first and last term for the club.

From their £60,000 investment, the Macclesfield-born forward would make the switch to Portsmouth for a reported fee of £1.5 million, easing their financial worries and allowing them to plan accordingly for a crack at the Second Division.

While Crouch’s goals weren’t enough to save them from relegation, the club ended up making such a crucial profit, with those funds eventually helping QPR return to the Championship in 2004.

Without such a significant return, it could have been a completely different story for the club’s fortunes, while there is no doubt Crouch will always be grateful to the club for allowing him to have the breakthrough that he craved.

He would go on to represent England over 40 times, and enjoy a long career in the Premier League with clubs such as Aston Villa, Liverpool, Southampton, Spurs, Stoke City and Burnley respectively.