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The Iraqi international could add more goals to a Rangers team that struggled in the final third last season

Queens Park Rangers' struggles in front of goal were plain for all to see in the previous campaign, with only three Championship sides scoring less than the R’s in the 23/24 season.

Rangers’ return of 47 league goals only bettered Millwall (45), Sheffield Wednesday (44) and Rotherham United (37) over the course of the past 12 months, as Marti Cifuentes managed to keep the side in the top tier of the EFL.

Attacking midfielder Ilias Chair was top scorer for the club with seven league goals from his 44 matches, and the problem of finding a consistent goal threat to play through the middle is still apparent just a month before the next season gets underway.

The Hoops will hope to address that issue sooner rather than later, and an approach for Ipswich Town striker Ali Al-Hamadi could prove to be the perfect solution for both player and club as we approach the start of the 24/25 campaign.

Ali Al-Hamadi can help to solve Queens Park Rangers goalscoring issues

In terms of out-and-out strikers, Rangers have struggled to find a player who can find the back of the net on a regular basis, with Lyndon Dykes mustering just six goals in his 41 league appearances for the club last time out.

Although the Scot can never be questioned on his mindset and determination in his role in leading the attack, he has never quite hit the heights during his time at Loftus Road, with just one of his four seasons with the club seeing him reach double figures in terms of goals scored.

Michael Frey’s arrival from Royal Antwerp in the most recent January transfer window barely set the world alight either, with the Swiss netting just once in his nine appearances for the club before getting injured, as he scored a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Norwich City.

The only other real option for Cifuentes to call upon at the moment is Sinclair Armstrong, who for all his dynamic qualities in charging with the ball at his feet, still struggles to be clinical in front of goal, with a return of three goals from 39 appearances.

With the triumvirate barely scraping a return that makes double figures themselves, Rangers are calling out for a centre forward that can put away chances that are created on a regular basis, as well as hold the ball up and bring others into play.

Despite being given limited game time by Ipswich Town after making the move from AFC Wimbledon, Al-Hamadi has proven he has what it takes to make it at Championship level, and a move away from Portman Road could be what he needs to further his career this summer.

Ipswich Town’s striker options could leave Ali Al-Hamadi stuck on the sidelines at Portman Road

Having joined the Dons from Wycombe Wanderers in January 2023, Al-Hamadi proved himself to be a master at scything through opposition defences during his time at Plough Lane, with 23 goals in 42 league appearances for the South West London side.

Time and time again, the Iraq international would be bearing down on goal and dispatching chances on a regular basis, which earned him a reputation as one of the hottest strikers in the EFL.

Town were keen to make him theirs earlier this year, and after a reported £1 million move, he made Portman Road his home, although things were far from straight forward once he made the move to Suffolk.

Having been the first name on the team sheet with the League Two side, chances in the first-team were soon at a premium for the goalscorer, who featured 14 times for the Tractor Boys in their promotion to the Premier League, but just once from the start.

Nevertheless, Al-Hamadi still performed admirably when given the chance by Kieran McKenna, with four goals during the second half of the previous campaign helping his side with their promotion aspirations.

But with matches coming at a premium in the second tier, the step up to the top flight seems like a step too soon for the Iraqi, who will have to fight the likes of George Hirst for a starting spot, as well as potential new striker arrivals, with Town targeting Panathinaikos hitman Fotis Ioannidis and Man City's Liam Delap.

The Suffolk side are said to have made a €25 million bid for Ioannadis this summer, and if that comes off, he will no doubt be first-choice up-front with Hirst as deputy, and it would also see Al-Hamadi slip further down the pecking order.

With that in mind, Rangers should be ready to pounce if the striker does become surplus to requirements this summer, with Cifuentes needing to add firepower to his squad to build on their great escape from the previous campaign.

Over his spells with Wimbledon and Ipswich, Al-Hamadi has proven that he has the physicality to bully defender in the Football League, as well as the power and pace to leave them for dead when required, and that threat will see him generate plenty of chances over the course of a season.