QPR boss: signing a striker isn’t straightforward

Mick Beale has warned fans that bringing in a striker is far from straightforward and not necessarily the right thing for QPR to do.

Rangers are largely restricted to free transfers and loans.

Boss Beale says goalscorers are highly unlikely to be available for free – and that the structure of typical loan deals would mean having to guarantee an incoming player a first-team place or be liable for additional payments to their parent club.

Beale brought in Tyler Roberts and Taylor Richards to bolster his attacking options but both have been sidelined with injury early in the season, along with Chris Willock.

Willock and Roberts will both play on Saturday against Rotherham and Beale is looking forward to seeing what his can team produce when everyone is fit.

Beale said: “The question for us is do you develop what you have, recruit, or do a bit of both?

“Obviously we recruited Tyler and Taylor to make a big impact further up the field but they have not been available to us.

“We also have in the league, two of the outstanding number 10s in Chris Willock and Ilias Chair. They have only played together one game this year and we happened to win that game.

“But before we start talking about signing forwards there are two things; where we are financially – we are not a Premier League club who can just keep going to the window and keep buying players.

“The level of player I am looking at right now, if I wanted to bring in a number nine it would be a free transfer. I don’t know who gives away 20-goal strikers away.

“A loan player would have to be guaranteed to play every game otherwise there are financial penalties. That is the reality.

“Then you have the players in-house and it’s whether you think the glass is half-full or half-empty.”

Lyndon Dykes came under fire for missing two glorious chances to score in his side’s 1-0 defeat by Blackpool on Tuesday.

But Beale insists he still has faith in the Scotland international.

He is also keen to keep developing young forward Sinclair Armstrong, who has impressed as a substitute.

“Nineteen days ago when the league started, no-one had heard of Sinclair Armstrong. Now he has come on in five games and is a fan favourite and it shows how quickly things can change,” Beale said.

“Would I like to go and pay a lot of money for a centre-forward? Of course.

“But that is not the reality of the situation we are in now. My job is to develop and work with the players we have got here.

“If anything moves outward then we will have more opportunities to bring someone in.

“But until we have seen Tyler play with Lyndon, Ilias and Chris, and how that looks, or Sinclair playing with them, how can we judge where we’re at?

“Those are the players we have in-house and we are thinking ‘This will come together.’ That is the gamble we have to take.

“The other gamble is to bring a boy in on loan who has to play, or risk the future of the club by going down a route we are not comfortable with – because it could lead to a transfer embargo in future windows or a points deduction, and we cannot do that.

“I am confident we have players here who can score in this league, we just need them all fit and available.

“I am listening to other managers bemoaning the schedule when they are have lots more millions than us.

“I am listening to other managers moaning about their start to the season and wanting funds to buy more players.

“I just want the players I have to be available.”