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Richard Kone could be in for a massive campaign for QPR as they embark on an outsider's play-off push

It's been a while since QPR were in the promotion conversation, but you get the feeling that things could be changing at Loftus Road this summer.

This time last year, the Hoops were quietly going under the radar, retooling their squad during the off-season under new boss Julien Stephan, who has experience managing at the top of the French top flight and in the UEFA Champions League.

QPR haven't been big spenders in transfer windows for a while, but last summer, they spent fees to bring back former loanees Koki Saito and Karamoko Dembele, as well as some of League One's most exciting talents.

They backed that ambition up in January by spending £4.5 million on England under-21 international Ronnie Edwards and have bolstered the backline even further during the ongoing window with the arrivals of Pierce Charles and Calum Ward as new goalkeepers, and Boy Kemper as a new left-back.

The squad at Loftus Road is starting to become a lot more well-rounded. All it takes is for one of last season's new arrivals to kick on to make QPR a real threat, and Richard Kone could easily do that.

Richard Kone's first Championship campaign with QPR

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Kone was QPR's marquee signing in their busy summer window last year, arriving from Wycombe Wanderers for up to £5 million, split into a £2.75m fixed fee and £2.25m in add-ons.

It marked the next step in what has been a meteoric rise for the Ivorian, who was playing in the Essex Senior League with Athletic Newham a little over a year earlier.

Kone took League One by storm in his first, and only, full season at the level at Adams Park, scoring 18 times in 41 league appearances, the majority of which came under Matt Bloomfield before his move to Luton Town.

Wycombe spent the majority of the campaign in the top two, amongst the likes of free-spending Birmingham City and Wrexham, but when the promotion push ran out of steam and the Chairboys lost in the play-offs, Kone was destined to move on without them.

The 23-year-old had a solid debut year at Championship level, crucially staying fit throughout the whole season, something that not many QPR forwards did, and scoring 10 goals in 43 appearances.

Richard Kone's Wycombe Wanderers trajectory gives hope for a better campaign at QPR next season

Kone image credit - Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

Kone's arrival at Wycombe in January 2024 was seen as a bit of a risk, as is the case when anyone makes the step-up from the semi-professional game to the EFL, and it took him a little while to get acclimatised to League One at Adams Park.

In his first half-season, he only scored three times in 17 league appearances, albeit the majority of those were from the bench. He made just six starts and played just shy of 650 minutes.

Nevertheless, having a full pre-season at Wycombe helped him hit the ground running immediately in his first full campaign at the club, scoring the goals that helped the Chairboys earn £5 million when they sold him.

Crucially, this pre-season is effectively his first at QPR, having joined the club after the opening day.

A full summer for Kone to continue growing at his new club, plus the fact his second season at Wycombe saw an increase of 15 league goals in just 24 extra games, should encourage Hoops fans that he could kick on even further in 2026/27.

QPR should be better defensively this season — a strong second year from Richard Kone could see them in play-off contention

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As prefaced, QPR are set to be much better defensively this year compared to last. Only Sheffield Wednesday conceded more throughout last season than the R's, who shipped 73. But the underlying defensive numbers at Loftus Road weren't those of a bottom-two side.

Per Fotmob, their expected goals conceded stood at 57.4, 16 fewer than how many they actually conceded. With one of the best shot-stoppers in the division last season in Pierce Charles at the club, QPR could end up conceding around 15 fewer goals this time round.

With a potential play-off-calibre defence at Loftus Road, Julien Stephan needs his frontmen to step up and replicate that strength up top, and Kone, along with a fully fit Rumarn Burrell, will be the two he turns to.

QPR have only finished in the top 10 once in the 11 seasons since their relegation from the Premier League, let alone in the play-offs, but with the postseason expanding to six teams, the Hoops could see themselves in the conversation if their young stars make the right steps in their progression.