QPR must not let West Brom transfer agreement happen - they could regret it | OneFootball

The R’s must fend off summer interest in Charlie Kelman and give him a chance in the Championship after a brilliant third tier spell at Leyton Orient.

Queens Park Rangers will be looking forward to the future now they have appointed Julien Stephan as their new manager.

It had been a lengthy process after Marti Cifuentes was placed on gardening leave prior to their final game last season at Sunderland, but the Spaniard has now departed the club and the R’s can begin preparations for the 2025-26 season.

The West London outfit will be aiming for a surge up the second tier table after a mediocre 15th-placed finish last term, with many players hopeful of staking a place for regular first-team football under a new regime.

One player who will be hoping to make an impact is forward Charlie Kelman, who returns to Loftus Road off the back of a hugely successful campaign at Leyton Orient.

His goalscoring habits in the third tier have raised the eyebrows of many Championship clubs this summer, with his future at Loftus Road currently hanging in the balance.

However, the R’s should do all they can to keep hold of him and allow the 22-year-old to thrive in the second tier, particularly as their forward department isn’t littered with goals at the moment.

Charlie Kelman’s stellar season at Leyton Orient and summer interest

Kelman linked up with QPR from Southend United in October 2020, but he has made just 26 appearances for the club so far, failing to get on the scoresheet.

He has spent most of the last five years away from the club on loan, featuring for the likes of Gillingham, Wigan Athletic and most recently, Leyton Orient.

After scoring seven goals in 47 games in Orient’s League Two title-winning season, Kelman returned to Brisbane Road for a second loan spell last summer.

Many O's supporters couldn’t have imagined what Kelman would be able to produce, particularly as he had scored just three goals from 14 appearances during his loan spell at Wigan in League One the season prior.

However, Kelman would go on to have a fabulous goalscoring term, netting a sensational 27 goals and providing six assists at Brisbane Road. His regular source of goals at the top end of the pitch was a major factor to Orient’s revival, as they went from languishing around the relegation places in December to reaching the play-off final the following May.

Kelman also scooped the third tier golden boot ahead of the likes of Jay Stansfield, Matty Godden, Richard Kone and Alfie May, which is a very impressive feat.

Seemingly on the rise in his career, Kelman has been attracting a lot of summer interest from the Championship, with Football League World recently revealing that as many as eight second tier clubs are interested in his services, with West Brom the most recent outfit to enter the race.

QPR should do all they can to keep hold of Charlie Kelman

QPR’s current attacking options consist of Michael Frey, Rayan Kolli, Alfie Lloyd and Zan Celer, all players who have been unable to provide a consistent number of goals over the course of a Championship season.

Charlie Kelman returns to the QPR fold as the most in-form frontman throughout the current R’s crop, and it would be foolish not to give him an opportunity to see if his game is good enough for the second tier after proving his clinical nature in front of goal last term.

QPR would be particularly kicking themselves if they sold Kelman to a Championship rival and he continued his goalscoring exploits, so they should do all they can to rebuff offers and ensure he is a Hoops player come the 1st September deadline.

At a time when the club are crying out for a marksman to avoid another term of being sucked towards the bottom end of the table, they should make use of the fact that they are getting a young and improving forward back on their books, with this decision having the potential to define the outcome of their season completely.