QPR player's transfer links to Celtic, Wolves and Crystal Palace feel bizarre: View | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers continue to have a slender lead above the relegation zone as the Championship enters the final five games of the season.

It has been a rather difficult campaign for the Hoops, as they have spent the majority of it in the bottom three.

However, the club has definitely been on an upward trajectory since Marti Cifuentes took the reins, and they now have a handful of games remaining to confirm their place in the Championship for next season.

Cifuentes has relied on a number of key individuals since taking over at QPR, with one of them being defender Jake Clarke-Salter.

The centre-back has been a regular in the side, and his performances seem to have caught the attention of other teams, as he’s been touted with a possible move this summer.

Celtic, Wolves, and Crystal Palace eye Jake Clarke-Salter

It was reported by The Sun last week that QPR defender Jake Clarke-Salter could be a wanted man come the end of this season, as teams lurk with interest.

It was revealed that Celtic, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Championship side Ipswich Town are all looking at the defender and are weighing up a move.

The centre-back has been with QPR since 2022, when he joined the club on a free transfer, and this season, he has been important in Marti Cifuentes’ team as they bid to beat the drop.

The 26-year-old is under contract with the Hoops until the summer of 2026, but his performances for the Championship side have caught the eyes of those mentioned teams, and it seems a move could be possible this summer.

Jake Clarke-Salter’s links to Celtic, Wolves, and Crystal Palace feel odd

As mentioned, it hasn’t been a season to remember for QPR, but it is one that can still turn out to be successful, as long as they beat the drop.

The West London side has struggled to have many standout performers in this campaign, and while Jake Clarke-Salter has been a key performer at the back, it seems a bit strange that he is being mentioned with possible moves away.

The defender has struggled throughout his career to play regular football, with this 2023/24 season being his best to date in terms of games played in a single campaign.

Clarke-Salter has played 30 times in the second tier so far, with him starting the last 20 games in a row.

The defender is averaging 80 minutes of football per game and has only not started four of those 30 games. In those games, Clarke-Salter has shown on occasions why he is being linked with a move away.

The 26-year-old has an accurate pass success rate of 40.9 (84%) per game, with him having 90% accuracy in his own half, as per Sofascore.com.

That has led to him collecting 0.1 key passes, and he even has an xA of 0.35. But it is in defence where he is judged more, averaging 1.0 interceptions per game as well as 2.1 tackles and has recovered the ball 4.0 times.

Overall, Clarke-Salter has shown glimpses of what he can offer, and so far, he has an average Sofascore rating of 6.89.

The centre-back has been important for QPR this season, and he has stepped up when the club has needed him, but you do wonder if he has done enough to warrant interest from teams like Celtic and Wolves.

Clarke-Salter hasn’t been outstanding this season; he has just been doing his job, and while it may be his best season in football, the defender probably still needs to do more if he wants to play in a higher division.

He has made himself a very solid defender in the Championship, but he doesn’t look to be at the level required to be playing in the Premier League against top opposition week in and week out.

But that doesn’t mean a move won’t happen, as things like this have happened before, but if it does for Clarke-Salter, it may be expected that it doesn’t go as he would like, and therefore, he may be better just staying with the Rs.