How QPR could look when Julien Stephan is appointed - defensive and midfield changes are likely | OneFootball

Julian Stephan is the new front-runner for the vacant QPR managerial position, and he would bring changes to their style of play, when appointed.

There's a new front-runner in the race to be the next manager of Queens Park Rangers, with reports that the former Rennes and Strasbourg head coach Julien Stephan is being considered for the position.

QPR have been in the hunt for a new manager since putting Marti Cifuentes on gardening leave in April. The club had considered the former Norwich manager Johannes Hoff Thorup for the position, but Thorup eventually decided against making that move.

Stephan is an ambitious target for Queens Park Rangers

Julian Stephan was sacked by Rennes in November 2024 after having lost five of the side’s opening 10 league games of the season. He'd spent a year in that position, which was his second spell with the club after having been with them between 2018 and 2021. But he'd already made his mark at the club. His first spell at the club saw him take them to a historic Coupe de France win in 2019 and their first-ever Champions League group-stage appearance.

Between those two spells, he was at Strasbourg, where he had a mixed record, taking them to sixth in the Ligue Un table - their highest league position in just over 40 years - but getting sacked with them one place off the bottom of the table. He'd also previously been under consideration to take over the running of the France under-21 team before they decided to offer the position to Thierry Henry.

With such a record, this is certainly an ambitious appointment for QPR to make, but Stephan is understood to want to try his luck in England following years in France.

​

Stephan will need to fill one position above all others at Loftus Road

Stephan prefers a possession-based game based around a 4-1-4-1 formation. The key here is flexibility. This formation can be pushed to a 4-5-1 by dropping wingers back or forward into a 4-3-3 making them the main support for a lone striker, which allows for the central attacking midfielders to drop back and cover in the middle alongside a sole defensive midfielder.

Cifuentes, on the other hand, tended to play a 4-2-3-1, a formation designed to play 'through the lines'. This is a formation which requires specialist position-filling in a couple of positions, particularly the central attacking midfield. Ilias Chair filled that role for Rangers under Cifuentes, and he signed a contract extension with the club in January, but his very specialised main position could disappear under Stephan. Chair is a versatile player, and may need to be shifted elsewhere on the pitch should Stephan take the position.

Many of the transfer rumours surrounding the club have so far involved defenders. The contractual position of Jimmy Dunne remains unresolved, though talk of the imminent sacking of Chris Wilder at Sheffield United could tip that balance in Rangers' favour. It was Wilder, after all, who was pushing hardest for Dunne to go to Bramall Lane in January. QPR's interest in Brighton's Odeluga Offiah could cool, for example, if Dunne ends up staying.

One name that has already been linked with QPR is that of Amadou Mbengue of Reading. Mbengue ticks a couple of boxes. He can play as either a holding midfielder or a central defender while, having started his professional career with Metz in Ligue Un, he'll already be familiar with Stephan.

Since the 4-1-4-1 formation is dependent on a holding midfielder doing a lot of work, it's a position that Stephan will need to get right. Mbengue could drop into that position or sit in the middle of their defence should Dunne leave the club. Versatility and flexibility are important in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Jonathan Varane was subject to a £5 million bid from Espanyol which was rejected at the start of June. He could also sit in that holding position.

Wingers also matter, so there'll be pressure on Koko Saito and Paul Smyth to prove that they can adapt to such a tactical switch and Stephan may want more cover out wide. As for goals, well, Michael Frey was the top scorer last season with eight, and at 6'2" tall he could be well suited to being a target man at the head of a 4-1-4-1. It is likely that his team for next season would look a little different to the Marti Cifuentes team of 2024/25.