QPR urged to consider signing ex-Sheffield United striker | OneFootball

QPR urged to consider signing ex-Sheffield United striker | OneFootball

In partnership with

Yahoo sports
Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·21 November 2024

QPR urged to consider signing ex-Sheffield United striker

Article image:QPR urged to consider signing ex-Sheffield United striker

Lys Mousset has been touted as a possible addition to the Hoops' struggling striker ranks

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...


OneFootball Videos


Ex-Bournemouth and Sheffield United striker Lys Mousset has been identified as a smart signing for Queens Park Rangers to add firepower to their struggling attack force.

The Hoops have endured a dismal start to the Championship season, and currently sit bottom of the second tier as the second-lowest scorers in the league so far, with 12 goals in 15 games, as Marti Cifuentes faces an uncertain future as head-coach.

They are certainly in need of striker additions, and may well delve into the loan or free-agent market to add to their forward line as soon as possible.

Lys Mousset mooted as potential signing to aid QPR's scoring woes

Article image:QPR urged to consider signing ex-Sheffield United striker

Mousset is best known on these shores for his stints with the Cherries and the Blades, but was not a regular scorer at either club in the Premier League or the Championship, despite the latter spending a club-record fee of around £10m to sign him in 2019.

He bagged five goals in 71 appearances for Bournemouth from 2016 to 2019, then nine in 54 games for United before he permanently departed Bramall Lane in 2022 via a loan spell at Serie A side Salernitana.

The Frenchman signed a two-year contract with VfL Bochum in Germany that summer, but was suspended from the team after six months without making an appearance, due to regularly turning up to training late, and loaned out to French side Nimes.

Mousset has been without a club since he had his Bochum contract terminated in January earlier this year, but FLW's resident QPR fan pundit, Louis Moir, believes that the Hoops should take a chance on him due to his experience in England, and their dire current striker situation, after we asked him for a position the club needs to strengthen, and an ideal player that they should attempt to sign.

“Look at the state we’re in at the moment. I think we’ve scored the second-least amount of goals in the league," Louis told FLW.

“Michael Frey, who started the season very, very well and surprised a few people, unfortunately went and got injured, and has been out for a while. I’m not sure when he’s going to be back completely fit.

“That leaves us with Zan Celar, who was one of our marquee summer signings, but hasn’t looked great at all. He still hasn’t scored his first goal for the club.

“Apart from him, we’ve only got players in and around the position who shouldn’t be anywhere near the first-team really.

“We need to be looking at signing a striker, either someone on loan or a free transfer, as I don’t think we are going to have the budget to buy a player in January.

“I’d be looking at the free or loan market. One player out there is Lys Mousset, who obviously has been in England before with Sheffield United and Bournemouth.

“He didn’t set the world alight. I think Sheffield United paid a lot of money for him actually, at the time.

“He’s been a free agent for a little while, but we could probably do worse than him.

“If you’re not paying a fee for someone who’s got experience in England and the Premier League, then you’d be willing to take a chance.

“To be honest, he’d probably be better than anything we have at the moment, and if anyone is capable of putting the ball in the net, it would help us in this situation.

“I’d be looking at him on a free, that’s for sure.”

QPR are in desperate need of new strikers

Article image:QPR urged to consider signing ex-Sheffield United striker

R's boss Marti Cifuentes only has three out-and-out strikers on his books as it stands, and it was definitely an oversight not to add more firepower to his attacking ranks in the summer, given his side's poor record in front of goal up to now.

The R's are the second-lowest scorers in the Championship so far, only in front of Swansea City, and it is clear, given that bullish centre-forward Michael Frey, with three, is their only centre-forward to have netted more than once in the league so far, they are in need of an explosive striker who can add a new dimension to their attack.

Aside from Frey, who is currently sidelined due to a calf injury with no time-frame on his return, QPR only have young Alfie Lloyd and summer signing Zan Celar as their other frontmen, with just one goal between them in 14 and 18 respective appearances so far this term.

Given Mousset's time out of the game, he would certainly need a few weeks to get back up to speed with the Championship, but his experience cannot be doubted when compared to Cifuentes' current strike options, with 99 Premier League appearances to his name in his career to date.

His last recorded statistics across a sustained period of time, at a similar level to the Championship with Nimes in Ligue 2 in the 2022/23 season, highlight a player that would be ideal for the R's quick, counter-attacking style of play that has not quite yielded the results they have wanted in this campaign.

It remains to be seen whether Mousset will end up at Loftus Road anytime soon, but one thing is for certain, that the Hoops must bolster their attack before the second-half of the season, or risk being relegated to League One.

View publisher imprint