"We're not going to do anything" - QPR fired transfer warning as claim made on what Marti Cifuentes needs | OneFootball

FLW's R's fan pundit wants to see the club invest in a new, prolific centre-forward ahead of next season

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...

Queens Park Rangers have been urged to sign a prolific striker this summer to help them progress up the Championship table next season amid Marti Cifuentes' lack of a consistent goalscoring centre-forward over the last 18 months.

The R's have impressed in parts of this campaign, but it has mostly been another year of frustration and little progress in terms of points and league position at Loftus Road so far. They will be glad that they have not been dragged into a relegation battle, however, after seriously struggling at the start of the season.

Cifuentes' side have won just one of their last seven league outings, and their season looks to be coming to a tough end in mid-table. He has been unable to rely on a first-choice striker to score regularly up to now, and that needs to change if they want to make a push for the play-offs in 2025/26.

QPR fan pundit makes '15 to 20 goals' striker summer demand

QPR's current out-and-out striker pool consists of Michael Frey, Zan Celar, Alfie Lloyd and Rayan Kolli. Frey has been their most consistently used frontman this season, and has bagged a respectable seven times in 25 Championship appearances.

His main issue has been his availability, after a calf issue ruled him out for two months in October, and the Hoops' other strikers have struggled to deputise in his absence. Celar has also been out injured for the majority of the campaign, but failed to ever get going even when he was fit.

Both youngsters Lloyd and Kolli have definitely impressed on occasion, particularly the latter, who has four goals in 15 league outings up to now. It is fair to say that neither are the finished article though, and each cannot be relied on to lead the line consistently or trusted to net the amount of goals needed to make QPR play-off contenders.

As a result of their striking woes, FLW's R's fan pundit, Louis Moir, has told the club to use their extensive scouting system to their advantage and sign a player that is capable of netting double figures for goals in the Championship this summer, after we asked him for one wish for the club in the upcoming transfer window.

"The ultimate thing that needs to happen in the summer window is to sign a striker that is capable of scoring at least 15 goals," Louis told FLW.

"We’ve been crying out for this for season upon season, and yes, I know obviously strikers who score a lot of goals tend to cost a lot of money, but it has been shown that other clubs can do it.

"If we’re recruiting better now, you’d hope that we can identify someone better who is capable of scoring that many goals.

"Realistically, we’re not going to do anything unless we have someone at the top end of the pitch who can put the ball in the back of the net at least 15 times in a season.

"Whether that’s a top-quality loan, spending money on the right striker, or just getting someone who has that potential to do the job. Zan Celar is out injured and has been for a while, but he isn’t guaranteed to be that striker when he is back.

"Michael Frey, as much as I like him, I’m not sure that he is going to get as many as 15 to 20 goals across a whole season.

"We need that centre-forward, it has to happen in the summer because we’ve been crying out for it in every single transfer window really."

QPR's answer to their scoring struggles might already be on their books

QPR's strikers have scored a combined 15 league goals so far this term, with many of their 44 strikes in the Championship so far coming from all across the pitch. Right-back Jimmy Dunne is their second-highest scorer up to now with five goals, which says a lot as to Cifuentes' woes up-front.

The club's decision to loan Charlie Kelman out to Leyton Orient in the summer was mostly met with relief and acceptance after he struggled to make an impact in the Championship last season, but his star turns at Brisbane Road this term may well have thrust him back into Cifuentes' plans for next season.

23-year-old Kelman has registered 18 goals and four assists in 49 games in all competitions for the O's this season, and his 14 League One strikes make him the most prolific non-penalty-goal striker in the third-tier up to now, above the likes of Jay Stansfield, Richard Kone and Louie Barry.

It is fair to say that he deserves another chance in the second-tier at Loftus Road next season, and Cifuentes last month hailed his performances as "very good," but would not divulge into whether he would be a part of his squad for 2025/26.

QPR's striker struggles surely make it a no-brainer to at least give the USA youth international some time in pre-season to prove himself as an option going forward. He is yet to score for the West London outfit in 26 appearances since his debut in 2020, but has clearly kicked on massively out on loan this season and may well be the answer to their scoring issues in the next campaign.