Shrewd QPR transfer decision netted £5m cash windfall - They paid just £300k | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers pocketed £5m after Ian Holloway's £300k gamble on Luke Freeman paid off massively.

Queens Park Rangers have made some excellent sales in recent years, but one that might go slightly under the radar in comparison to players such as Eberechi Eze is Luke Freeman's move to Sheffield United.

The attacking midfielder was one of the most exciting playmakers in the entire EFL between 2017 and 2019, when he joined QPR for an undisclosed fee from Championship rivals Bristol City.

R's gaffer at the time, Ian Holloway, admitted he'd been a long-term admirer of Freeman after bringing him to Loftus Road, which turned out to be a masterstroke by the Somerset-born manager.

Over two-and-a-half seasons at the club, the midfielder would go on to play over 100 matches for the London-based outfit, scoring 16 goals and creating a further 25, which ultimately earned him a £5m move to Sheffield United.

Whilst his career took a nosedive after leaving QPR, his former club were left delighted at the cash windfall they received for his services from the Blades, as he cost them just £300k from Bristol City, two and a half years earlier.

When looking back at the QPR squads in years gone by, one of the most eye-catching and iconic names is certainly Freeman, who enjoyed an excellent two-and-a-half-year stint at Loftus Road.

Signed from Bristol City in January 2017, the attacking midfielder had previously caught the eye of the Robins at Stevenage, and played a key role in City's promotion to the Championship in his first year at Ashton Gate, notching seven goals and 18 assists in 46 appearances.

Freeman impressed QPR boss Holloway with his creativity, and made a £300k switch to the Superhoops in the middle of the 2016/17 season. Thus began a memorable spell at the London club, which saw him become a firm favourite in W12.

The midfielder's first half-season started off setting expectations high with two goals and four assists in 16 Championship matches, which he would then follow up in his first full year in the capital with five goals and 13 assists. He missed just one league match all season, proving to be a dependable contributor that helped steer the R's comfortably clear of the relegation zone.

Freeman's final season at the Hoops would see him score eight goals and assist a further six, including a crucial winning goal against Leeds United, which ended a run of seven straight defeats. With QPR once again flirting with relegation, it was time for him to make the step-up.

By the time he departed the capital in 2019, Freeman had over 100 games under his belt, including 16 goals and 25 assists, and the R's pocketed a neat £5m from Sheffield United, softening the blow of losing their star man.

Ian Holloway transfer decision pocketed QPR a hefty £5m cash windfall

Sadly for Freeman himself, the move to Bramall Lane would be the beginning of the end of his career, as he struggled for minutes in the Premier League, and was sent out on multiple loan spells away from the club.

He most recently played for Barnet in 2024, but has since been without a club, and it remains unclear whether Freeman will continue his playing career in non-league, or call it a day at just 33 years old.

It's fair to say that the £300k gamble Holloway took by bringing the playmaker to Loftus Road paid off big time, as QPR went on to earn more than their money's worth with his performances, before turning a large profit for him in 2019.

When the attacking midfielder came through the door in January 2017, Holloway stated: "I've been a great admirer of Luke and his creativity is something we'll really feel the benefits of," and it was clear to see why.

When R's supporters look back on their recent sales, it's hard to ignore Freeman as one of the very best in the last decade, as they bought him on the cheap, and developed him into an excellent player, reaped those rewards, and sold him on for a large profit.

His contributions over his two and a half years at the club could easily have been the difference between relegation and survival, and the fact that he only missed four league matches in two full seasons meant the R's could depend on him in desperate times.

Freeman had many memorable moments in the famous blue and white hoops, the winner against Leeds, a stunning strike at Villa Park, and outrageous ability from dead-ball scenarios are just a few of the highlights that have secured the 33-year-old's place in QPR folklore.

With how his career panned out after leaving QPR, the Superhoops will likely be delighted at the windfall they received, and the decision they made to cash in when they did, or they might not have received anywhere near the £5m that they did, if they decided to hold on to him for longer.