Stephan confirmed as QPR head coach
QPR have confirmed the appointment of Julien Stephan as the club’s new head coach.
Rangers on Tuesday formally announced the departure of Marti Cifuentes, who was placed on gardening leave in April.
That paved the way for Frenchman Stephan, 44, to be announced as Cifuentes’ successor.
Stéphan has had two spells in charge of his hometown club Rennes and in 2019 led them to the French Cup – the club’s first trophy in 48 years.
After an 18-month stint at Strasbourg, who sacked him in 2023, he returned to Rennes, but left last November after a bad run of results.
Alou Diarra is expected to be Stephan’s assistant and the new boss will be joined by analyst Rudy Cuni, who worked closely with him at Rennes.
“I feel very proud and excited to join QPR,” Stephan said.
“QPR is a historic club with strong values and passionate fans, so I feel honoured.
“I wanted to come here because I know there’s a lot of passion around the club and around the team, and I feel very lucky to discover that.
“There is something unique about English football. The intensity, the atmosphere, the passion of the fans also, the tempo of the game, the culture around the club all make it a very stimulating environment for a coach.”
The first signing of the Stephan era could be Reading defender Amadou Mbengue, while Australian right-back Kealey Adamson is set to join from A-League club Macarthur.
Rangers are also looking to sign Kwame Poku, having agreed a compensation fee with Peterborough for the winger.
Poku’s contract expires this summer but, at 23, he is too young to move on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling.
There will be outgoings as well, probably starting with Hevertton Santos.
A number of clubs are interested in taking Santos back to Portugal, where he played for Estrela prior to his move to QPR and was last season on loan at Vitória – who are one of the interested clubs but do not want to pay the fee of around £1.7m agreed for a potential permanent move when he joined them on loan in January.
