QPR almost signed Celtic cult hero - Southampton & AFC Bournemouth saw his class | OneFootball

Artur Boruc's career trajectory could have been different had he ended up at Loftus Road

During a period which included three seasons in the Premier League between the start of, to the mid 2010s, Queens Park Rangers welcomed a raft of high-profile stars to Loftus Road.

Bankrolled by the now-controversial Tony Fernandes, the West London side set about becoming an attractive proposition for those who had already made plenty of waves across English and European football to receive a significant payday whilst the club looked to reconsolidate amongst the elite 20 clubs in the country.

With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to name only a select few of said deals which actually turned out worthwhile for Rangers in the end, with significant overspending plunging the club into massive debt, and subsequently setting them back when it came to mounting immediate challenges for promotion after returning to the Championship ahead of the 2015/16 season.

It also represents a timeframe during which the Hoops also missed out on attaining the services of some experienced and highly-rated players who would eventually make a name for themselves elsewhere within the Premier League.

And, it's fair to say that one name stands out more than most on this particular front.

Artur Boruc admitted how close he came to moving to Queens Park Rangers in 2012

That comes in the form of Poland international goalkeeper, Artur Boruc, who emerged as a prime target for Mark Hughes in W12 during the summer of 2012.

The shot-stopper became an integral figure for SPFL giants Celtic after arriving at Parkhead from Legia Warsaw in 2005.

Boruc gained national attention for a standout performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the UEFA Champions League a year later, before eventually going on to win three successive league titles with the Bhoys in his first three seasons at the club.

After leaving Glasgow in 2010, the keeper enjoyed two seasons with Fiorentina, before becoming a free agent in the summer of 2012.

As such, Boruc was left on the free agent market, with it being claimed that Hughes was in the market for a new goalkeeper, before the 65-time international revealed how close he was to a move to the Londoners before they moved to sign Brazilian international and former UEFA Champions League winner with Inter Milan, Julio Cesar, which proved an ill-fated deal for all involved.

"I'm fit and available and a little bit surprised to be in this situation following two good seasons in Serie A with Fiorentina," Boruc said at the time.

"I was offered an extension with Fiorentina but felt it was the right time for a change and have had several other offers which just didn't feel right at the time.

Indeed, he was linked with a potential switch to Everton just weeks later, before completing an eventual first-ever move to the Premier League with newly-promoted Southampton in September 2012, initially on a short-term deal.

"My dreams are coming true. I've been talking about this for a long time, and finally I'm here in the Premier League," Boruc stated after moving to St Mary's.

Despite an extremely mixed start to life on the South Coast, Boruc would eventually assert himself as Saints' starting keeper, mainly after Mauricio Pochettino replaced Nigel Adkins in the hotseat.

After helping the club achieve a best-ever start to a top-flight campaign under the Uruguayan in 2013/14, Boruc's luck at the club started to run out as he conceded to Stoke City's shot-stopper, Asmir Begovic, after just 13 seconds in November 2013, before sustaining a hand injury, eventually returning in the latter weeks of the season to help Saints finish eighth.

However, following Fraser Forster's arrival in Ronald Koeman's first transfer window at St Mary's, Boruc would be loaned out to AFC Bournemouth under Eddie Howe.

Ultimately, the initial temporary deal would prove a masterstroke for the Cherries as he kept goal throughout the vast majority of their historic 2014/15 promotion-winning season, before joining on a free transfer ahead of the club's maiden Premier League campaign.

The 6"4 man continued as a mainstay at the Vitality Stadium for a further five years, helping the Dorset club achieve plenty of first's within their recent history, including a joint-club record finish of ninth in the Premier League back in 2016/17.

In total, his international class showed with an overall record of 67 clean sheets in 160 top flight appearances, begging the question as to how his and QPR's trajectory could have differed had Hughes secured his services in 2012.