Scotland's Euro 2024 qualifying run could have negative implications for QPR's finances: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

It's an exciting time for everybody in Scotland at the moment - with the national team on the verge of qualifying for Euro 2024 with a 100 percent win rate in their qualifying group.

It's an unprecedented time for Steve Clarke's men, who with the likes of Scott McTominay, John McGinn, and Andy Robertson, are just one win from nailing their place in Germany.

But it's the striking force that has posed the biggest questions in terms of selection. Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams are seen as the new kids on the block, taking over from the old guard of Steven Fletcher and co but with the former beginning to lead the race to spearhead the attack, it could have consequences on QPR's finances.

How could Scotland's Euro 2024 run impact QPR's finances?

In months gone by, it was Dykes that led Scotland's line in their quest to qualify for a major tournament. The Tartan Army hadn't gotten to one since 1998, but in 2020 they travelled to their first tournament in 22 years and though they failed to progress from the group stages, it set a precedent for a new generation of Scots to try to qualify for future tournaments.

That's already proved true this year. Scotland currently sit top of their Euro 2024 qualification group with 15 points from a possible 15, and they only need Norway to drop points in one of their final four games to seal their mark in Germany.

But over the last few weeks, the tide has changed for Dykes and for Scotland. Adams has found his foothold in the team, and the emergence of Millwall's Kevin Nisbet and Lawrence Shankland has increased competition for places.

Indeed recently, Dykes has been relegated to impacting games from the bench under Steve Clarke.

Of course, with international competitions comes recognition. Dykes will have had some increased standing as a result of Scotland's Euro 2020 campaign, but as a team that somewhat scraped their way into the tournament, they were seen as the whipping boys of a group that included England and Croatia.

However, with Scotland the form team of the current qualifiers, if they take that form into Germany next summer, they could be on the front foot in their group as a top seed.

But again, that has drawbacks for QPR - if Dykes doesn't feature, it will leave Adams to take the glory and that could damage the former's value.

The physical forward signed a new deal with the R's in the summer but has been regularly linked with a move away from Loftus Road and would likely demand a higher fee were he Clarke's first choice.

We've seen the West Londoners cash in on their best attacking players in the past and it would be no surprise to see them do the same with Dykes in future windows if there is interest.

But if he remains down the pecking order for his country, he's not likely to bring in the sort of cash that he could if he was starting and bagging regularly on the international stage.

What has Lyndon Dykes said about his place in the Scotland team?

Dykes has admitted that Scotland haven't qualified yet, despite needing to take just two points from their remaining games. He said: "We want to keep our run going - it’s been an amazing start we’ve had to the campaign.

"Every game is difficult but we’ve put ourselves in a good position which is a nice place to be but it doesn’t mean we can sit back and relax."