QPR must seal cost-effective new deal for £7.5k-a-week star | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers, led by Julien Stephan, should offer versatile attacker Paul Smyth a new contract.

The trust and support in and of Julien Stephan at Queens Park Rangers may well be growing, and the Hoops will therefore have some big decisions to make in the coming weeks and months to ensure that the former Stade Rennais boss has what he needs and wants.

One of those decisions that may not seem as high profile or as important as others, but could still have a major affect on Stephan’s time at the club, would be to ensure that versatile attacker Paul Smyth is rewarded with a new contract.

After a slow start to the Championship campaign, which risked verging into a crisis after a 7-1 shellacking at the hands of Coventry City in August, QPR have begun to really turn things around.

The R’s had built what appeared to be an exciting squad with a high ceiling over the summer but there were major concerns over just how low their floor may be in the early weeks of the campaign.

However, as autumn begins to really take hold, the west Londoners, with a youthful and vibrant collection of players, can seek to be upwardly mobile and even flirt with a tilt for the top six and the play-off places.

It may therefore be paradoxical to prioritise the contract of a 28-year-old forward, given the overall profile of the squad, but it is a key decision that QPR should make.

Paul Smyth can offer key attributes for Julien Stephan

During his managerial career thus far, Julien Stephan has been renowned for his ability to work with younger players and perhaps his best managerial attribute is his development of youth prospects.

However, to match up those coaching credentials with a successful managerial career, an element of pragmatism and experience is required to ensure results also come.

Paul Smyth is certainly someone who can, and has been, providing that point of difference and added layer of experience to a young but thrilling QPR attack.

The Belfast-born forward, who has been capped 21 times by Northern Ireland, hasn’t necessarily been a key man or even close to being a regular for Rangers this season and yet his know how and his own knowledge of his game is allowing him to be effective when selected.

In just 235 minutes of Championship football this season, Smyth has provided a couple of crucial goals in victories against Charlton Athletic and Bristol City.

Capable of playing both up-front or on the right, as well as in a variety of systems, Smyth has been and is being deployed as a left-winger for Stephan, but the Frenchman will be aware that he can call on the Northern Irishman to do a range of jobs – as well as lean on his valuable intelligence that has been developed over time.

QPR would be being cost-effective with renewal of Paul Smyth

Smyth, who has been signed by QPR twice after previously having been let go of a few years ago before fighting his way back to Loftus Road, is out of contract in the summer of 2026.

In Smyth, who reportedly earns £7,500 per week according to Capology, QPR have a player who would appear to be content with being a squad player for a mid-table second-tier outfit, but still be able to provide quality off the bench, or from the start, when required.

They also have a player that can play in a variety of positions and has developed an important level of intelligence and experience, with international football behind him.

Julien Stephan may well be a coach known for his development of younger players but every squad needs to have players of the ilk of Smyth, and QPR would therefore be fortunate to have him.

To allow him to leave on a free transfer and then replace his exact profile for the squad would cost a lot more than to ensure he is renewed and remains at Loftus Road moving forward.

QPR have been impressive in the market of late and they have done some very smart business, and, whilst perhaps not necessarily overly exciting, the renewal of Smyth would add to that reputation for smart business.