Fresh claim made on Karamoko Dembele situation at QPR - 'It’s a real shame' | OneFootball

FLW's QPR fan pundit has named the team's most disappointing player so far this season

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

QPR have had a solid first half of the season under summer appointment Julien Stéphan.

The Frenchman arrived following the departure of Martí Cifuentes, and is overseeing his first job in English football, previously working with Rennes and Strasbourg.

The Hoops finished 15th in the Championship table in 2024/25, so are seeking to improve on that position over the rest of the year.

There have been some ups and downs in the first half of the term, with some players shining and others disappointing.

Stéphan will be keen to see the best from his players, with the club potentially in the mix for a play-off place if they can hit their stride in 2026.

Karamoko Demeble disappointing claim

When asked which one player has been most disappointing this season so far, FLW’s QPR fan pundit Louis Moir named Karamoko Dembele due to his lack of contributions in attack.

While he’s still optimistic that the 22-year-old can make it as a top player and a key part of the squad, he wants to see more from him given the number of opportunities he’s been handed.

“I think one player who I was expecting just 10 times more than what I’ve seen so far is Dembele,” Moir told Football League World.

“I still think he’s got what it takes to be a top, top player, but he’s had a fair few opportunities this season — whether that’s come in on [from the bench], starting games — and, in terms of contributions, he’s not bringing anything and he’s becoming a bit predictable when he’s got the ball.

“You know what he’s going to do.

“I still believe he can do it and he can be a big player for us, whether that’s playing on the right or in the 10 role, because there’s obviously competition for places now.

“He started the season pretty poorly, he picked up slightly in a couple games and he’s just not doing enough.”

Moir believes that there should be more to come from the forward, and that he’s at risk of his place in the team being lost to players like Kwame Poku, Harvey Vale, Paul Smyth and Koki Saito, rating him at a five or six out of 10.

“And I just think, out of 10 so far this season, I’d probably give him maybe like a five, a six at a push,” he added.

“He should be doing so much better, and we all know he’s got the ability to do things at this level where he could be a bit of a player who you could say, on his day, is unplayable.

“But we’ve got to see it and he’s got to start doing it, otherwise players like Poku, Harvey Vale when fit, Smyth who has been decent, Saito, you’ve got players who are doing more, who are going to take the position in the side where he could arguably make that position his own.

“It’s a real shame because he’s got the ability clearly, he’s just got to become so much more consistent and actually start effecting games, scoring goals, making better decisions when he gets the ball and not being so predictable.

“I really hope he does come good eventually because, again, it’d just be another player that we’ve got who can add a lot to this team.

“Fingers crossed he improves, and I still have that belief, but we’ve got to see it at the end of the day.

“Managers really seem to rate him because he is getting opportunities.

“Dembele on his day could be very, very good and we see glimpses of it when we had him on loan last season, so I’ve still got belief but we need to see things now on the pitch.”

Dembele spent last season on loan from Brest before completing the permanent switch to Loftus Road in the summer.

He contributed three goals and four assists from 23 appearances in the Championship, helping QPR come 15th in the table.

Karamoko Dembele needs to improve to keep his place in the team

Dembele has played pretty frequently this season, both as a starter and coming off the bench, but he’s yet to show any real attacking threat.

A significant improvement is needed in the second half of the campaign, otherwise he’s at risk of falling well down the pecking order.

He is still only 22, so time is definitely still on his side, but the competition for game time at QPR is hotting up.

Given his performances while on loan, it’s been disappointing for supporters that his impact has declined this season instead of improving.