Julien Stephan set for "interesting" Pape Meissa Ba decision at QPR | OneFootball

Pape Meissa Ba is set to join Queens Park Rangers from Schalke 04, so FLW have asked QPR fan pundit where he thinks the striker fits in next season.

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…

With Julian Stephan having replaced Marti Cifuentes and numerous comings and goings already in the transfer market, this has been a busy summer at Loftus Road.

Queens Park Rangers will be desperate to improve upon their underwhelming 15th-placed finish in the Championship, and a lot of work is going on in order to facilitate that.

But it seems that there are further changes afoot, with the news that Pape Meissa Ba is set to join the club from the German club Schalke 04.

This will be Ba's first taste of English football, but he's used to experiencing different cultures. Having started his career in Senegal, he's already played club football in both France and Germany.

"He could easily come in and start" - Ba backed, though Celar could be difficult to dislodge

We spoke to our resident QPR fan pundit Louis to get his feelings on the news that Ba is set to join his club and specifically asked him whether Ba will be the club's new main starting striker.

He said: "I'd be surprised if Pape Meissa Ba comes in and he's our new number nine go to first choice striker, but saying that it all depends on what happens", he told us, "Frey could get injured for a little while again, we don't know what's happening with Celar regarding injury, there's been a few murmurs that he might actually leave."

Louis feels that Rangers have attacking options, but that Zan Celar will be difficult to dislodge from their starting line-up: "But I think that as long as Celar doesn't leave and he's fit, I don't see how anybody is going to be first choice ahead of him because he really deserves a shot at the start of a brand-new season. But if that doesn't happen and Ba comes in and impresses, you could make a case for him being that first choice number nine. He might even be the first-choice striker for the first few games."

None of this, however, is to say that Louis doesn't see the potential in Ba: "It'll be interesting, what pans out. I like the look of him, he's the sort of option we've not had up front for a while, and with the striker we signed from Burton, there now seems to be a good mix of abilities and attributes among our strikers which we've not had for a while."

And Louis believes that Ba could be a hit in the Championship if he's given the opportunity: "Hopefully Ba comes in and grabs a few goals. He scored a decent amount the season before last and then didn't start many games at Schalke, but got a couple of goals. He looks decent, he looks to have good movement and instincts, and he's tidy, neat finisher. If he brings that to the Championship, with the striker problems we've had, he could easily come in and start. If Celar's fit, I don't think Ba will start, but then in some games we could have two up front, but Celar's not fit or leaves the club, Ba could make it his own."

Ba impressed at Grenoble, but a move to England could be good for both the player and his new club

Pape Meissa Ba moved to Schalke 04 in the January 2025 transfer window after having impressed in France with his two previous clubs, Grenoble and Paris FC. But having joined the 2. Bundesliga outfit, he only made 13 appearances and scored 2 goals throughout the second half of the season.

It's clear that a range of options in attack would be a good thing for QPR next season. Michael Frey is an accomplished striker, but he's also been fairly injury-prone in recent years, and Zan Celar's 22 appearances for them in all competitions last season only yielded two goals. The opportunity could be there for Ba to make a name for himself in England next season, and to do so would be very much in his best interests, as well as those of his new club.