QPR figure would find it hard to reject Burnley advances: View | OneFootball

Marti Cifuentes pulled off something of a miracle in the 2023/24 season, as he guided Queens Park Rangers to safety when the club looked doomed for relegation.

The Rs brought in the Spaniard at the back end of October after a dreadful start under Gareth Ainsworth meant the club were set for a long, hard season.

Even after a few games under Cifuentes, QPR still looked certain to go down, but eventually he managed to galvanise the team, and they went on an impressive run of form that saw them finish in 18th place, comfortably above the dotted line.

Given the job he has done at QPR in the short time there, it was possibly expected that Cifuentes would be a wanted man this summer.

That hasn’t quite happened, but with Burnley seeing Vincent Kompany leave to join Bayern Munich, it has now emerged that the Clarets are admirers of what the Spaniard has done in West London.

Burnley are admirers of QPR’s Marti Cifuentes

Burnley have seen manager Kompany leave the club to join Bayern Munich, ending his two-year stay at Turf Moor, during which the club achieved promotion to the Premier League and then relegation this season.

His departure means the club is looking for a new manager, and according to a recent report from The Athletic, QPR’s Cifuentes is someone the club admires.

As well as Cifuentes, the report also states that West Brom’s Carlos Corberan is someone else the club admires.

There are other names in the frame, as Scott Parker is said to be a candidate under consideration, and he is said to be interested in the vacancy.Coventry City’s Mark Robins has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Kompany in the past, and Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Rohl is an exciting young manager who has impressed with Sheffield Wednesday, but he has just signed a new contract with the Owls.

Raphael Wicky is another name that has cropped up recently; he is a former manager of BSC Young Boys, and he is someone the Clarets are potentially considering, but they do face competition from Sunderland.

So, while Cifuentes may not be the only candidate of interest to Burnley, he is obviously someone who has impressed the club, and you would expect him to find it hard to turn that Clarets opportunity down should they come knocking.

Marti Cifuentes would find it hard to reject Burnley's approach

QPR may have been expecting more interest in Cifuentes before now, given how good of a job he has done in his short time at the club.

It shouldn’t be underestimated that the Rs were in a dreadful place when Cifuentes arrived at the club; they looked like a side destined to be relegated, but he managed to pull the team together, and they picked up some impressive results along the way, including a 4-0 win over Leeds United, to confirm their safety.

So, with it now being reported that Burnley are admirers of Cifuentes, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He is a young, up-and-coming manager who has done well in his first role in England, and that is what clubs are looking to get in a manager these days.

A lot more clubs are looking for managers who may not have much experience but have a bright future in the game and seem talented as a coach or manager.

Cifuentes definitely fits that model, but one thing that does go for him is that he does have experience managing in the Championship.

The 41-year-old has taken charge of 32 games in the second tier, winning 13 and drawing nine. He has picked up 48 points in total, which is an average of 1.50 per game, as per Transfermarkt.

While he hasn’t managed tonnes of games in England, Cifuentes has managerial experience, as he’s taken charge of Sandefjord, Aalborg BK, and Hammarby.

QPR was his chance to get into English football, and he has done well in the role, but you would think that if Burnley do come knocking this summer, it would be a move that would be very hard to ignore for the QPR boss.

The Clarets are expected to be competing at the top end of the Championship in the 2024/25 season. QPR can have ambitions of pushing up to top-six contention if Cifuentes is retained, yet following Kompany into Burnley and building on the foundations laid is seriously attractive and perhaps heightens the chance of a Premier League opportunity before long.

Burnley are well backed financially now and Cifuentes would have more resources than he currently does at QPR. Between the two clubs, it is more likely he would achieve immediate success with the Clarets.

Great things have been done at QPR in a short period of time and the Rs fans would be gutted to see Cifuentes leave. However, if he ends up being the chosen candidate from Burnley's punchy list of personnel, it's a move that's hard to turn down. The club have been a Premier League side for eight of the last 10 seasons and that's where their ambitions lie, which may well align with the QPR figure.