Julien Stephan will hate fresh QPR news involving ex-Chelsea star | OneFootball

Julien Stephan will be concerned by reports linking Queens Park Rangers with former Flamengo boss Filipe Luis.

Queens Park Rangers have endured a mixed Championship campaign as they sit firmly in the middle-of-the-table, having flirted with a push for the top six and the play-off places at times.

The Hoops spent this time last year with a bit of uncertainty over the managerial position before the delayed departure of Marti Cifuentes was confirmed with the immediately subsequent appointment of former Stade Rennais boss Julien Stephan.

Stephan took charge of a QPR side that had an exciting, young squad ready to go and some intriguing recruitment done, primarily, or at least most notably, from League One.

The likes of Kwame Poku, Rumarn Burrell and Richard Kone headlined an interesting summer of business at Loftus Road, adding to a squad that many believed could be dark horses for the top six.

A disastrous start, including a 7-1 loss to Coventry City early on, suggested it may be a short first stint in England for Stephan, but the Frenchman has been able to turn things around, both on the pitch and, largely, off it in terms of support from the fanbase.

QPR are in a reasonable spot in the Championship and will believe next season promises a lot – but reports suggest Stephan may be dispensed of as the R’s look at former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid left-back Filipe Luis.

Filipe Luis would be a coup for QPR – but doubts would remain

Filipe Luis, who enjoyed an impressive and successful time of it as a player at Atletico Madrid before a more forgettable stint at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea, has begun his managerial career impressively.

The former Brazil international defender had spent time coaching within the Flamengo youth setup, handling the U17 side and the U20 side for short stints before his appointment in charge of the first-team in September 2024, replacing former Brazil boss Tite.

At the time, Flamengo had slipped in the Brazilian Serie A before re-establishing themselves in the top three under Luis – and they then went on to win Copa do Brasil with Luis overseeing two-legged victories against Corinthians and Atletico Mineiro.

In 2025, Flamengo went on to win both Serie A and the Carioca, as well as the Supercopa do Brasil and, most impressively, the Copa Libertadores.

The Libertadores winners also reached the knockout stages of the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, easing to a 3-1 win against eventual winners Chelsea in the group stages, while also taking Paris Saint-Germain to penalties in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

Reports of reasons for his surprise departure from the Maracana earlier on this calendar year vary, but the suggestion that Flamengo grew unhappy ‘secret talks’ between Luis and BlueCo – with Luis potentially taking over at either Chelsea or Strasbourg.

All of that, then, would suggest Filipe Luis is and should be one of the most highly-rated coaches in world football and so, as a result, would be an immense coup for QPR.

It is worth really pointing out just how impressive Filipe Luis’ short managerial career has been thus far – and any links to QPR would be concerning for Stephan, as he would struggle to compete with the excitement of his appointment.

However, it is also worth noting a couple of things for QPR themselves to be wary of with regards to any reported pursuit of Luis – and why sacking Stephan would be so harsh.

It would be as though QPR are starting again. This season has widely been accepted to be a transitional campaign to allow Stephan to settle and find his feet in England before attacking the division next season.

Moving on from the former Rennes boss for another unknown in English football, regardless of his achievements in South America, would again be an acceptance that next season doesn’t have to be written off, but must be experienced with a fair dollop of patience.

Another concern would be that Filipe Luis has already proven during his footballing career that a switch to England may not bring out the best of him.

He went from being a part of one of the best defences in European football with Atletico to being on the periphery at Chelsea, moving back to the Spanish capital city after just a year in west London.

Julien Stephan deserves a second season at QPR

Julien Stephan has gone through the hard yards at Loftus Road and, while this season may not be finishing with much of a flourish after a generally positive spring, there is reason for QPR supporters to remain excited.

At his disposal is an extremely exciting crop of youngsters that have also been dealing with their fair share of injuries – Poku being an excellent example of that.

The former Peterborough United man has been unable to make much of an impact at Loftus Road just yet but a clearer pre-season and beginning to next really could see him go on to become one of the best and most effective attackers in the Championship.

Stephan has been unable to play with is best eleven on a regular basis, if at all, while also dealing with the learning of a new culture, both on and off the pitch, in London.

The learning has been done and they have remained in a reasonable position. There will, and should, now be a feeling that, with the year-long experience gathering out of the way, QPR will be a real challenger next season.

Stephan has an exciting squad that, aside from Poku, Burrell and Kone, also boasts the likes of Karamoko Dembele, Ilias Chair, Jonathan Varane, Harvey Vale, Nicolas Madsen and Rayan Kolli.

With a year of developing alongside each other under their belts, the squad, as well as Stephan, should build on next year and it would be very harsh to sack the Frenchman.

Known for his ability to work with young players, perhaps most notably Raphinha while at Rennes, QPR will be expecting to reap the rewards of that even further with the squad that has been put together – and signs of improvement are there.

For example, prior to their 2-0 defeat at automatic promotion chasing Millwall at the Den at the weekend, QPR had put together an impressive five-match unbeaten run which featured a 6-1 demolition of Portsmouth – a performance that could be indicative of what QPR are throughout next season if they can sustain themselves and discover some consistency.

Filipe Luis, undoubtedly, would be a coup for QPR but their great experiment began last season and should be persisted with, with Stephan given a second season at least.