Exclusive: QPR backed to sign 29-year-old top flight striker | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively with FLW, Lee Hendrie has urged QPR to seal a transfer agreement for a striker plying his trade in a top European league.

QPR are understood to be keen on signing RKC Waalwijk striker Oskar Zawada this summer, as the Hoops look to sharpen their cutting edge for next season.

As revealed in a report from Dutch publication SoccerNews, QPR, along with fellow Championship sides Blackburn Rovers and Oxford United, are all interested in securing the services of the 29-year-old centre-forward.

The former Poland youth international has recorded a double-figure goalscoring season in all competitions during his debut campaign with the Dutch Eredivisie side this term, having signed for Waalwijk from New Zealand outfit Wellington Phoenix last summer.

Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side haven't been as clinical as they would like in the final third this season, and as such, the club appears to be planning on bringing in some attacking reinforcements during the summer transfer window.

"They will invest" - Lee Hendrie urges QPR to bolster attacking arsenal during summer transfer window

Speaking exclusively with Football League World, we asked Sky Sports pundit and former player, Lee Hendrie: 'QPR want to sign RKC Waalwijk striker Oskar Zawada. With this in mind, do you think it's imperative that QPR sign a new striker this summer?'

Hendrie said: "QPR are linked with Zawada from RKC - he's scoring goals in the Eredivisie this season.

"I think that's an area where QPR, I wouldn't say they've struggled because they have got young talent that might even be leaving the football club, but you feel that's an area that might have just taken them to the next level.

"They've been dependent on certain players to play in that role. Bringing players in that are proven; the Eredivisie is not an easy league, but you do feel that you'd put it on par with the Championship.

"QPR are in a good place. They've got some good players, and I think that they will invest. Listen, if they do bring him in, I think it would be a good addition.

"Having a striker that you can certainly revert to in a different way always helps your case in the Championship, and always can give you every chance."

Oskar Zawada signing would be a major gamble by QPR

QPR have lacked the presence of a true goalscoring number nine for a number of years now, and as such, finding one must be of significant importance this summer.

However, looking at Zawada's pedigree over the course of his career, it does appear as though his signing would be a sizeable gamble by the Hoops if he were to be entrusted with leading the line at Loftus Road next season.

Prior to his current campaign with RKC Waalwijk, the Pole only has one other season in which he registered double-figure goals during his career (per FotMob), and that came in the 2022/23 campaign in which he bagged 15 in 26 total appearances for Wellington Phoenix.

He's a fairly well-travelled centre-forward too, having plied his trade in Dutch, Australian, Polish, South Korean and German football respectively.

QPR must find a reliable and prolific avenue for goals moving forward, and whilst Zawada has been enjoying the best years of his career in that respect over the last few seasons, numerous poor goalscoring campaigns in the past present him as being far from a sure thing to take to the Championship.

Therefore, the Hoops may well be better served scouring the market for a safer option this summer.