QPR must keep tabs on 9-cap international free agent striker in case old Michael Frey woes return: View | OneFootball

QPR should be open to adding depth and variety to their forward line with a quality free agent.

While the summer transfer window closed at the end of August, teams are still able to add free agents who were without a club prior to the cut-off point. Somewhat surprisingly, one such player who still finds himself without a club is Irish international striker Aaron Connolly. Though that's not likely to be the case for long, and with Queens Park Rangers looking a little light in forward areas, the talented forward should be on their radar.

24-year-old Connolly, born in western Irish County Galway, started out as a youngster with local club Mervue United, before being invited for a trial with Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion in 2016.

The 16-year-old impressed during his stay in East Sussex, and was subsequently offered a contract to join up with the club's Under-18 side.

Progressing very quickly into the Brighton Under-23 set-up, Connolly made his first-team debut for the Seagulls in the EFL Cup at the age of just 17.

The forward would go on to make 52 senior appearances for Albion over a six-year spell, punctuated by loan spells with Luton Town and Middlesbrough in League One and the Championship respectively, as well as a short stay with Venezia in Italy's Serie B.

Connolly, who has represented his country at various age groups over the years, picked up the first of his nine senior caps during Euro 2020 qualifying, but following a loan spell at Championship side Hull City during the latter half of the 2022/23 campaign, the striker signed for the Tigers permanently ahead of the following season.

However, the attacker only penned a one-year deal at the MKM Stadium, and despite having a solid season on the north bank of the Humber (scoring 10 times in 36 games), the Irishman was released last summer.

An energetic, hardworking striker, Connolly remains unattached to a club at present. But a striker with his quality and pedigree, one who can work well off a target man-type foil of a forward, surely won't be available for too much longer, and given QPR's circumstances, they should be interested in bringing him to Loftus Road.

QPR short of attacking variety following summer business

Boss Martí Cifuentes brought in Swiss forward Michael Frey and Slovenian forward Zan Celar over recent transfer windows, while allowing Sinclair Armstrong and Lyndon Dykes to move on to Bristol City and Birmingham City respectively.

Both Frey and Celar look good additions, with the former in particular standing out with some unplayable performances during the Hoops' first few Championship fixtures, helping them pick up five points from their four games to sit in midtable at this very early stage.

However, given Frey, who has previously played for the likes of BSC Young Boys, Lille, Fenerbache and Royal Antwerp, has a history of persistent injuries, which limited him to nine appearances and a single goal towards the end of last season, Rangers are perhaps a little light in terms of attacking cover.

Both are also more physical in their style, and someone in the mould of Connolly, who can pair up with a target man or offer pace in behind, could bring Cifuentes some much-needed variety in offensive areas.

Connolly needs to settle somewhere and reignite a promising career

In his earlier years, Connolly was fast-tracked from the Irish lower leagues, through the Brighton youth teams, and into Premier League and EFL football.

The striker has shown his ability to be very effective at a high level, having scored 20 career goals in 116 appearances throughout his senior career thus far.

While his time with Hull was reasonably successful, it was short-lived, and the striker is at the point in his progression where he needs to be playing regularly as an integral part of a team now.

Having proved he's more than capable of excelling at second-tier level, and potentially higher, the forward will be eager to find that place he can call home for a substantial amount of time.

That place could be West London, where QPR will be desperate to add depth and variety to their forward line with a quality free agent addition such as Connolly.