'£10m+' claim made on 'unplayable' QPR star as January transfer window looms | OneFootball

Ilias Chair has been named as the best player currently in QPR's squad, with a £10 million price tag being slapped on the Moroccan

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

QPR have emerged as real contenders for a play-off place in the EFL Championship this season under former Rennes and Strasbourg boss Julien Stephan, with the West London outfit boasting some immensely talented players in their squad.

Heading into the summer window, QPR were made well aware that head coach Marti Cifuentes would be leaving the club, having been placed on gardening leave, and would be confirmed as the new head coach of Leicester City not too long after.

Fortunately for the R's, they were given plenty of time to seek a replacement in the Loftus Road dugout and landed on French boss Julien Stephan.

Stephan has helped develop world-class talent during his time in charge of Stade Rennes, with the likes of Raphinha, Jeremy Doku, Ousmane Dembele, and Eduardo Camavinga all playing under him at one stage or another.

Understandably, therefore, there was much excitement surrounding his arrival, and even more so with the ambitious additions made in the final third, with the likes of Koki Saito, Richard Kone, and Kwame Poku all joining the club over the summer.

However, speaking to FLW's QPR fan pundit, it's neither of the aforementioned trio that has been named as the club's MVP, nor is it any other summer addition, but one who has been at the club since 2017.

Ilias Chair was named as QPR's MVP and has the ability to make a 'massive difference' when he is in the side

Football League World's QPR fan pundit, Louis, has provided their view on who is the R's best player in the squad at the moment and what sort of price tag they would put on their head.

Louis said, "I think even though the amount of signings we've had over the last few years and some of the players we've had through the door, whether that's loads or whatever, but I just think Ilias Chair, even to this day right now, is still QPR's best player."The difference in us as a side, when he's in and out of the team, you can just see it straight away, and I think we're fortunate that he's still stuck around the club to be fair."I really thought he was going to end up leaving; someone was going to come in for him. But he's signing new deals, he's staying there, and it just seems like he's going to be at QPR forever, really, the way it's going."He's not getting any younger, and I still feel obviously at his age now, he's probably in his best years, you could say."The price tag you'd be putting on Ilias Chair now, I'd still say if someone was to come in for him, you have got to be looking at anything maybe between, I'd say you try your luck at £10m+, but maybe because he's not as sort of young anymore, you get maybe a little bit less."But around that sort of price tag, I'd say definitely because, look, everyone knows in the whole Championship how good he is and how unplayable he can be on his day as well."Obviously, it'd be good to see that on a more consistent basis, but he's top-notch and, like I say, the difference, you even see it recently as well since he's come back from injuries, starting every game."We've looked better, he's scored, he's getting assists, like he's just a massive, massive difference. And I think, if we're at our best, Chair has to be at his best as well."

Ilias Chair could play a massive factor in QPR's and Julien Stephan's ambition of a play-off finish in the EFL Championship this season

Chair has been with the West London outfit since January 2017, having initially spent a month on trial with the R's following his release from Belgian outfit Lierse.

The Moroccan international has been an almost ever-present figure in the R's said when fit since the 2019/20 season, having spent the second half of the 2018/19 season on loan with Stevenage in League Two, scoring six and assisting six in just 16 fourth-tier appearances.

Chair is now closing in on 300 appearances for QPR across all competitions, and whilst he hasn't been firing on all cylinders so far this season, having spent much of the campaign out with an injury, he still possesses the ability to change a game in an instant.

If QPR and Stephan truly have ambitions of a top-six finish this season, Chair will be key to that goal, and the Frenchman must do everything he can to extract the best out of the attacker.