Neil Warnock will give former Sheff Utd striker Danny Webber a chance to impress as the R’s get their pre-season campaign underway with a pair of games this weekend.
Rangers travel to Harrow Borough on Friday night for what is becoming an annual fixture, and then a second string R’s side will go to Conference South side Hampton and Richmond on Saturday.
Webber is likely to play some part in the Harrow game as he attempts to win a deal following his release from Portsmouth this summer. Neil Warnock told the Ealing Gazette: “I think not only this match – but I’d like to see how Danny does in the friendlies in Cornwall next week.”
Wayne Routledge however looks increasingly likely to be playing his football away from W12 next season. A £1.5m deal was agreed between Rangers and Newcastle but the move broke down, apparently over the player’s demand for a loyalty payment from St James’ Park. Now Swansea, Cardiff, Leicester and Forest are all in the running for the speedy winger.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said: “Wayne Routledge is one of a number of options we are pursuing. Like always at this time of the year, we have got to go around looking at the options and seeing what deals can and can't be done. It's just a matter of weighing all those things up, really, and seeing what deals can and can't be agreed and our manager will make the decisions as we go forward."
Routledge was initially only brought in to cover the injured Jamie Mackie, and the cooling of interest in buying him permanently may be because Mackie is fighting fit for the new season. Neil Warnock told Sky Sports: "He's working really hard Jamie. You don't have to ask the question. He's worked really hard throughout the summer with Fitz Hall. They've both worked very hard Every time I've been in they've been there. He's desperate to play a game before the end of pre-season. We won't let him join in at the moment. He's joining in the warm-up and he's pulling his hair out to play."
Another QPR target that Swansea picked off ahead of us is Danny Graham who has been talking to Talksport about why he chose South Wales over West London. He said: “When I spoke to Brendan he came across as a really enthusiastic manager. I want to achieve goals and do well in the Premier League. From the moment I met Brendan to leaving the meeting I knew my heart was set on Swansea City. Obviously the style of play was massive. I’ve been playing against them for a few years now and it’s something that attracted me to Swansea.
“I met West Brom, I met QPR – it could have been quite easy for me to go to QPR I could have stayed where I was living. I spoke to West Brom and liked what I heard but not as much as Swansea. From the moment I met Brendan to leaving the meeting I knew my heart was set on Swansea City.”
In happier news, Adel Taarabt did indeed report back for pre-season training as scheduled this week. Taarabt had been given extra time off this summer because of his commitments with Morocco and his honeymoon but reported back on Wednesday. Assistant manager Keith Curle told Talksport the environment at Rangers means the much sought after attacker would be better staying put for a while yet.
Curle said: “You have to surround Adel Taarabt with the right people. We were lucky we had people like Clint Hill, Bradley Orr and Shaun Derry. They are seasoned professionals who have a level of acceptance with some of the things that Adel did. They have never been able to play in a team with someone of his ability. That’s the measure. Along the way we try and educate Adel and bring him our way but sometimes you have to let him go his way. Adel knows when he goes on the football pitch he has to make something happen, he’s not focussing on anything else. He knows he’s got to produce.”
And Rangers may yet add Spurs full back Kyle Naughton to their squad with Warnock saying the R’s are close to tying up a loan deal. He told the Evening Standard: “We have a great relationship with Spurs and we tried to sign Kyle in January before he went to Leicester. We can give him Premier League experience and help him develop in the same way Kyle Walker benefitted from being on loan from Spurs at at Aston Villa last season."
Finally, old news now but out since the last LFW Diary, Sky Sports and ESPN have announced which QPR fixtures they are planning to televise between now and November. The following games will be shown:
QPR v Newcastle United - Monday 12 September - 8pm - Sky Sports
QPR v Aston Villa - Sunday 25 September - 4pm - Sky Sports
QPR v Chelsea - Sunday 23 October - 4pm - Sky Sports
Tottenham Hotspur v QPR - Sunday 30 October - 4pm - Sky Sports
QPR v Manchester City - Saturday 5 November - 5.30pm - ESPN
The situation with DJ Campbell remains as clear as mud. The Fulham Chronicle says Rangers have agreed a fee of £1.5m with Blackpool and Flavio Briatore has personally approved the deal after getting on with the player when they met (stop laughing). However Sky Sports reports that the player is set for West Ham and Talksport say he is going nowhere at all. This story remains below the rumour line in the diary until something more concrete turns up.
Sky Sports also report that talks have broken down with goalkeeper Paddy Kenny over a new contract that he was apparently promised should we win promotion. Kenny has been linked with West Brom this summer but still has two years to run on his current deal at Loftus Road.
Lazio winger Pasquale Foggia continues to be linked with a move to Loftus Road. The 28-year-old played only twice in Serie A last season and would be a direct replacement for Adel Taarabt should he move on.
The way Foggia’s agent is talking, it sounds very much like he’s using QPR’s reputation as a rich club to get a better deal out of Cesena but time will tell. Marco Sommella said: “We are trying to find a solution. We will see what the market offers. We are talking about an important player that deserves to play in an important league. There is the option of Cesena, who wanted him a year ago, but there is also the opportunity for him to join QPR. QPR are looking for a player to replace Adel Taarabt if he was to be sold to Paris St Germain. Hence, I don't exclude the possibility that Foggia plays abroad. We have to wait and see what the market has to offer also because in Italy everything seems to be at a standstill."
Sky Sports has picked up on a story in the Norwegian press linking Rangers with a move for full back Jonathan Parr. The defender plays for Aalesund in his homeland and previously had a trial with Nottingham Forest. Swansea City, again, are said to be interested aswell. Parr said: "I know there has been some interest and my agent is working on some different clubs. I have not talked to my agent yet, and I don't think anything is ready now but I have told him I want to know as little as possible until it is concrete."
The Daily Mail says Rangers are competing with West Ham and Fulham for the £2.5m signing of Leeds winger Max Gradel.
Perhaps a little surprisingly, Clarke Carlisle has dropped down to League One with a season long loan deal to his home town club Preston. Carlisle had been an impressive mainstay of the Burnley defence for several years but lost his place in March after new boss Eddie Howe took over and has now been allowed to leave.
After laying 45 minutes of PNE’s friendly at Fleetwood last night he told Preston’s official website: “I am absolutely delighted, it has been a couple of weeks in discussions and negotiations and I was really hoping we could get something sorted and finally we have and I managed to pull on the shirt last night and I am thoroughly delighted. I'm a local lad, Preston born and bred, grew up a couple of miles away in Leyland. It had always been a little bone of contention for me why my local club had never been interested whilst I was a young lad so I always put in a shift against them. Hopefully now I can channel that energy into producing some solid performances for Preston. Everybody loves and supports their local club, like I said I channelled my energy in the opposite direction because I felt I was never given the chance to come and try and play for Preston. Now I have and I am going to grasp that with both hands. Hopefully now I will be a part of the new revival the gaffer is hoping to introduce here.”
Lee Camp is again being linked with a move away from Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa were eyeing a move for the newly capped Northern Ireland international before Alex McLeish replaced Gerrard Houllier and switched his attention to Man City’s Shay Given. Now Sky Sports reports that newly promoted Swansea are eyeing a move for Camp after losing goalkeeper Dorus De Vries to Wolves at the end of his contract.
Finally for this section Mark Perry has signed for FTL Futbol Hellenic Division One East outfit Chalfont Wasps. The 32-year-old, who was forced out of the professional game by a knee injury after 75 appearances with QPR between 1995 and 2002, will combine playing with an assistant manager’s role.
- Carlos Tevez’s quest to move nearer to his family in South America has been dealt a blow after Man City rejected a £35m bid from Brazilian side Corinthians. If they’re coming back with another offer they’ll need to be quick, the Brazilian transfer window closes on July 20.
- Stoke have agreed a fee of £4m with £2m in add ons for West Ham striker Carlton Cole and are confident of completing a deal, despite reports today that Cole had rejected their offer of personal terms. Chairman Peter Coates said: "We've agreed terms with them, it's now just seeing where we get with the player and agent, and that's still a live issue. We're in the messy business of trying to reach agreement, I'm not in any doubt that he'd want to come to Stoke, I don't think that's a problem at all." Stoke have also picked up injury prone centre half Jonathan Woodgate following his release from Spurs.
- Arsenal have signed Ivory Coast striker Gervinho for an undisclosed fee from Lille with whom he scored 15 goals last season. Manager Arsene Wenger says he has not given up hope of keeping want-away skipper Cesc Fabregas and says he expects Samir Nasri to stay despite interest from Man Utd and Chelsea. Alex Ferguson said today that he doesn’t expect Nasri to move to Old Trafford. German outfit Hamburg have made an offer for striker Nicklas Bendtner.
- Contrasting news on two serious knee operations. Chelsea have revealed that midfielder Michael Essien will be out for six months but Spurs say Ledley King’s latest trip to the surgeon was a success. To be fair a surgeon finding anything in Ledley King’s knees to operate on would have to be termed a success. Chelsea are apparently looking to take their former charge Scott Parker on a season long loan from West Ham to cover for Essien, but the Hammers would look for a £4m fee before approving that deal.
- Wolves have completed the £7m signing of central defender Roger Johnson from Birmingham. The 28-year-old has signed a four year contract.
- Newcastle have been forced to embark on their tour of the US without midfielder Joey Barton after he was refused a travel visa. Barton was jailed for an assault in a McDonalds takeaway in Liverpool two years ago and has been forbidden from travelling the States by the US government. Barton will instead head out on the reserve tour of Holland.
- Liverpool have agreed another hefty transfer fee, £20m this time, for Villa winger Stewart Downing.