QPR need a Charlie Austin regen to fix glaring issue | OneFootball

QPR have missed a goalscorer like Charlie Austin, who was unbelievable during his spells with the Hoops.

Queens Park Rangers have had a dreadful start to the 2024-25 season as they currently sit rock bottom of the Championship.

With no wins since August and just five points picked up in the past 11 games, many are questioning whether Marti Cifuentes should retain his job.

Having kept them up from a perilous position 12 months ago, many will argue he deserves a continued chance, but you feel the Hoops need to pick up their form before the new year if he is to stay in charge at Loftus Road.

However, despite Cifuentes' struggles, the players have to take some of the blame, with fans of QPR heavily critical of their commitment so far this campaign.

There are certainly plenty of areas for improvement then, but one issue that has remained is the inability to find a natural goalscorer. Since Charlie Austin's departure in 2015-16, the club has struggled to find a suitable replacement, and nearly a decade later, they are still searching for that finisher up front.

If they can find this in January, then it could be the difference between relegation to the third tier or another season in their current division.

When QPR initially signed Austin back in 2013 from Burnley, it was almost guaranteed he would score goals having come off the back of a 27-goal season for the Clarets.

Of course, he lived up to the hype and across two-and-a-half seasons at Loftus Road, he netted a resounding 48 goals in 89 appearances. This included 18 goals in the Premier League, which accounted for 43% of the Hoops' goals that season.

Unfortunately, the January 2016 window saw him depart for Southampton for a fee of around £4 million. While he did return for a second spell in 2021, he wasn't quite at the same level, but nevertheless, he did a decent job for a 31-year-old.

Now in 2024, fans of the London club will be wondering how they haven't been able to find a single striker of the same level. While they've seen odd glimpses from the likes of Nahki Wells and Jordan Hugill in 2019-20, they haven't been able to find goals on a consistent basis.

This is largely down to the board's priority, which seems to be hand-selecting unproven players in the hopes they become strong goalscorers. While this is admirable, it rarely works at Championship level and looking at the top-scorers in recent years, they tend to be players who have a history of scoring goals.

This is something that QPR must address in the January window.

They cannot afford to let another transfer period pass without securing a proven goalscorer, as failing to do so could jeopardise their Championship status.

QPR's current crop of attackers aren't cutting it

While previous years weren't brilliant, QPR's choice of strikers at present seems to be letting them down. While no blame can be put on the youngsters of Rayan Kolli and Alfie Lloyd, more would have been expected from Zan Celar when he was signed from FC Lugano for £1.7 million plus add-ons.

The Slovenian has started just six games all campaign with Michael Frey prior to his injury, Cifuentes' preferred option. But, when he has received minutes, he hasn't impressed and doesn't seem able to transfer his form from Switzerland over to the Championship.

Having managed 51 goals in 116 games for the Bianconeri, it was expected he would comfortably bring a decent tally to London. However, he is now approaching 700 league minutes without a goal, which just isn't acceptable.

This only furthers the fact that QPR owner Ruben Gnanalingam must put his hand in his pocket come the winter transfer window. A new signing is needed and if he can have a similar impact to Austin, then safety will inch closer every week.