Football League World
·13 August 2023
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsFootball League World
·13 August 2023
Queens Park Rangers added to their defensive ranks this week with the addition of experienced centre-back Steve Cook.
The 32-year-old has joined the West London club from Premier League side Nottingham Forest.
The defender spent 10 years with AFC Bournemouth, helping the club rise through the English Football League.
Cook then joined Nottingham Forest in the 2021/22 season and was a big aid in the club’s promotion to the Premier League. The centre-back played 12 times last season for Forest, helping the club retain their Premier League status.
However, after falling down the pecking order, he was given permission to leave and has now joined the Rs on a two-year contract.
The experienced defender could now make his debut for the Championship club in their game against Cardiff City on Saturday, August 12th.
FLW’s QPR fan pundit Louis Moir believes Cook will be an excellent addition for the club and he will help strengthen their defence.
He told FLW: “Steve Cook is a top signing. We're in desperate need of bodies, especially the back, particularly centre-halves.
"We wanted him a couple of years ago when he chose Forest instead of us and that proved to be a good decision because they went up via the play-offs, and he had a big part to play in that season for them.
"He's been at Bournemouth for years and got promoted with them, played in the Premier League multiple times for both clubs, knows what it takes at this level, and you can't really say no to a player like that.
"I think with the situation we're in, with how tragic our defence looks at the moment, adding him will hopefully make us stronger in that department.
"It's not going to make us weaker and with having a player like that in the building, you'd hope that with his experience, know-how and what he's gone through at this level before, he can spread that message to the rest of these players.
“It's a very good signing, I hope he's not the only centre-half we get in because we need one or two more, but you look when everyone's hopefully going to be fit, you're going to have Steve Cook, Jimmy Dunne, Jake Clarke-Salter and one or two more, that's not bad.
“We all know the defence has been a problem for years, and we can't keep conceding easy goals, so he's going to make a massive difference you'd hope, and I just can't wait to see him now and get him straight in for that first game.”
Cook had a contract at the City Ground that was valid until the summer of 2024, meaning before joining QPR he had 12 months left on his current deal.
Now, using Capology, we have looked at the estimated salary that the defender was on at Nottingham Forest.
According to Capology, Cook was on a weekly wage of £30,000, which adds to a total of £1,560,000 a year.