The bargain fee QPR could sign Wigan Athletic's Sam Tickle for this summer | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers are the latest club to show an interest in Wigan Athletic's Sam Tickle

Queens Park Rangers are preparing to play Championship football once again next season, as Julien Stephan looks to delve into the summer transfer market to address key areas ahead of his second campaign in charge in West London.

At numerous points across the season, QPR showed glimpses of challenging for a place in the Championship top six, but unfortunately for the R's, it wasn't to be.

Inconsistent runs of form proved to be the club's downfall, as an array of injury problems also hindered Stephan's team selection at various stages of the year.

Whilst boasting the likes of Richard Kone, Rumarn Burrell, Kwame Poku, Ilias Chair, Karamoko Dembele, Koki Saito, and Paul Smyth in attacking areas, the R's were unable to get the best out of their attacking talent often enough to sustain a real push for promotion.

In goal, Stephan tinkered with his options, with each of Paul Nardi, Liam Walsh, and Ben Hamer all spending time between the sticks across the year, but now, the French boss is seemingly looking to address this issue once and for all heading into the summer.

Queens Park Rangers are interested in striking a deal for Wigan Athletic's Sam Tickle

Indeed, goalkeeper has been a real area of struggle at Loftus Road this season, with the lack of consistency between the sticks taking its toll on the R's' defensive record.

Nardi was made the first-choice option at the beginning of the campaign, but as errors crept into his game, he would be replaced by Liam Walsh and then Ben Hamer. Nardi managed to keep just three clean sheets in 17 league appearances, Walsh just four in 23, and Hamer two in seven.

Both Nardi and Hamer are due to leave the club at the end of their current deals, leaving just Walsh as the only recognised senior goalkeeper in the squad, with Murphy Cooper due to return to the club this summer from his loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

As preparations for the new season are well underway, Stephan has outlined goalkeeper as a main area for improvement and solidity, and looks to have set his sights on Wigan Athletic's Sam Tickle, as per Alan Nixon's Patreon.

Tickle, 24, has spent his entire professional career with the Latics, and having emerged as the club's undisputed number one at the beginning of the 2023/24 season, he has played every single league minute in each of the last three seasons.

Not only is his injury record, or lack thereof, outstanding, but the former England youth international's performances between the sticks have long earned him interest from elsewhere, with Preston North End having held an interest as far back as 2024, whilst Sheffield United were linked as recently as last summer.

With Wigan stumbling to another lowly finish in the third tier, Tickle's time at the DW Stadium is surely coming to its end sooner rather than later, and QPR are seemingly looking to make that a formality as soon as possible.

Having signed a four-year deal in the summer of 2024, his contract with Wigan isn't due to expire for another two years, but despite this, Nixon states that a fee between £1.5 million and £2 million could be enough to strike a deal with the Latics.

Despite having two years left on his current terms, Wigan aren't in the strongest position to negotiate a fee for their star shot-stopper, given they have been consistently in the bottom half of League One for each of the last couple of years.

Tickle certainly won't be short on interest heading into the summer window. Still, QPR are looking to quickly fend off attention from elsewhere by striking a bargain deal for the Englishman to become their new number one.

Julien Stephan looks to resolve the goalkeeper issue at Queens Park Rangers with the capture of Wigan Athletic's Sam Tickle

Stephan will have been pleased by lots of aspects of his first year with QPR, but will be well aware that huge improvements must be made across the board if the club is to seriously challenge towards the top of the division next year.

The Frenchman has previously helped to develop exciting young talent such as Raphinha, Eduardo Camavinga, Ousmane Dembele, and Jeremy Doku during his time with Rennes, and will be hoping to do similar in West London.

Tickle still has ample time for improvement despite already being a more than competent shot-stopper, as QPR could well be getting a bargain if they can get this deal over the line.