QPR must regret missing out to Reading FC in midfielder chase: View | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers registered an excellent victory against Leeds United last Friday to secure their safety.

The R's thoroughly deserve to stay up after managing to thrive under Marti Cifuentes, with the club previously looking doomed before he came in.

Having only just escaped relegation at the end of last term, a lot of mental strength was required to get QPR back on track following a slow start to this season, and Cifuentes has done a great job.

He may have some experienced players at his disposal, including Jack Colback and Steve Cook and he may have some talented attacking players including Ilias Chair and Chris Wilcock, but it was never going to be an easy task for the R's boss to keep his team afloat in the Championship.

But he has achieved that task - and will be looking to build on recent results with a productive summer transfer window.

QPR and Reading FC's battle for Lewis Wing

Looking back to the last summer window, they were in a battle for Lewis Wing.

Having coached him at Wycombe Wanderers last term, then-QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth may have felt that he had a good chance of getting a deal for the midfielder over the line, after the player opted against extending his stay at Adams Park.

Not only would Wing have another chance to work with Ainsworth, who is a very likeable manager, but he would have also had the opportunity to return to the second tier.

This is an opportunity that would have been tempting for the midfielder - and QPR were even reported to be favourites to get a deal over the line for him.

But League One side Reading ended up winning the race for Wing in the end, signing a three-year deal at the Select Car Leasing Stadium to commit his future to the Berkshire outfit.

QPR have surely regretted not signing Lewis Wing

Wing has been nothing short of exceptional for the Royals this term, playing a huge role in keeping the club in the third tier.

Many of his goals this season have come from outside the box, with his set-pieces and long-range shots able to change games.

The 28-year-old may not have made as much of an impact at Loftus Road, but he can change a game with one kick of a ball and he could have helped Ainsworth during the early stages of the season when the R's were struggling.

Some would argue that keeping Ainsworth in the job for a longer period could have been a negative, but Wing could have helped to put extra points on the board.

Not only is he deadly in the final third, but he can also play a part in controlling the tempo of a game and can operate in both a deep midfield role and a more advanced position.

Recently, he has been playing as a defensive midfielder behind two attacking midfielders and even though that looked to be a real challenge for him, he did fairly well.

His passing ability has helped him to look accomplished in this position - and it's this passing ability that has helped the Royals to increase their goal tally during the campaign.

In terms of how he would have fitted in at QPR, he could have been an excellent squad option to have, even if he hadn't started most games. And with Andre Dozzell being sent out on loan in January, that suggests Wing could have been a much more useful option at Loftus Road.

Although it wouldn't have been a good idea for the R's to have Wing as their only deep-lying midfield option, he could have slotted into a defensive midfield role when needed, able to win duels and keep composed with the ball when in his defensive third.

And in the final third, he can make a real difference, as mentioned above. The likes of Chair and Willock aren't always going to produce the goods, so having someone like the Royals' midfielder would have helped their cause.

Available on a free transfer and arguably in the peak years of his career, he would have been an excellent addition at Loftus Road. But it wasn't meant to be in the end.