Striker Zamora leaves Fulham for QPR
QPR have signed striker Bobby Zamora from Fulham.
The England international, 31, has moved to Loftus Road for an undisclosed fee after agreeing a two-and-a-half-year contract.
He played under Rangers’ former Whites boss Mark Hughes at Craven Cottage, but QPR had long been planning a pre-deadline move for him.
- Hughes has spent big this month.
Enquiries were made about Zamora while Neil Warnock was still at the helm and the club had been monitoring his situation for some time.
The ex-Tottenham and West Ham forward fell out of favour under Fulham manager Martin Jol, and their strained relationship alerted Rangers to his possible availability.
Zamora’s arrival completed yet another manic deadline day in W12, where it has become the norm to sign a host of players during each transfer window.
Since Hughes’ appointment earlier this month Rangers have signed strikers Zamora and Djibril Cissé, defenders Nedum Onuoha and Taye Taiwo, and Mali midfielder Samba Diakite.
They began the day determined to complete Cisse’s signing from Lazio, which they duly did, while any prospect of capturing Carlos Tevez was, as expected, quickly extinguished.
And there was no late bid to prise Chris Samba away from Blackburn, who had insisted they would not sell the centre-back.
Manchester City reiterated that they were not interested in a loan deal for Tevez, who played under Hughes at Eastlands.
Meanwhile, Tottenham stood firm in the face of Rangers’ interest in South African midfielder Steven Pienaar, who was also wanted by his former club Everton.
Hughes may target Pienaar or Aston Villa’s Stephen Ireland at the end of the season.
- Orr secured a move to Blackburn.
A move for Ireland, who also played under Hughes at City, was discussed shortly after the Welshman succeeded Warnock.
But it was quickly established that Rangers would have a greater chance of buying him in the summer.
However, Zamora was well within their grasp and after making their move to sign him, they opened formal discussions with the player after reaching an agreement with Fulham.
Zamora made it clear he was keen to make the switch and the deal was comfortably finalised before the 11pm deadline.
The day also heralded the end of Martin Rowlands’ eight-and-a-half-year spell as a QPR player.
The midfielder – a key player in Rangers’ rise from the third tier and a stand-out performer in the Championship – left the club by mutual consent along with Norwegian misfit Petter Vaagan Moen.
Defender Bradley Orr, made available ahead of the deadline, signed for Blackburn, and Matt Connolly will spend the rest of the season on loan at Reading.
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