QPR backed to beat Millwall to 'exciting' transfer deal | OneFootball

FLW's QPR fan pundit shares their thoughts on the club's links to Nolan Galves amid Millwall interest

Queens Park Rangers are preparing for their twelfth consecutive year in the Championship after yet another mid-table finish in West London, as Julien Stephan hopes to break their second-tier curse with a strong campaign next year.

In what was Stephan's first year managing outside his native France in his career, the 45-year-old guided the R's to a 15th-place finish in the Championship.

On the whole, the overriding feeling surrounding Loftus Road is likely one of disappointment, with the club having threatened to break into the play-off places across various stages of the season, but inconsistent runs of form hindered their chances of doing so, as they were resigned to a bottom-half finish.

Stephan will be keen to ensure that his side is better placed to go and attack the top six next season with a strong summer window by addressing key areas of weakness.

With no obvious senior right-back in their ranks, each of Jimmy Dunne, Amadou Mbengue, and Kealey Adamson deputised there throughout the season to varying degrees of success, as Stephan appears to have already taken steps to fix this issue.

Queens Park Rangers must sign a right-back this summer amid Nolan Galves bid but face Millwall competition

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QPR have already made strides to address their right-back issue with a move for French defender Nolan Galves, according to Sacha Talovieri, but face competition from division rivals Millwall.

Galves has featured regularly in the French second tier for Rodez across the past two seasons, and the 22-year-old's performances have attracted interest from the English capital.

Rodez are said to want around €1 million (£863k) to allow Galves to depart the club this summer, as QPR aim to beat Millwall to his signature.

Football League World's QPR fan pundit, Louis Moir, has shared their thoughts on the links to Galves, whether the club needs to sign a new right-back, and if the R's stand a chance of beating Millwall to his services.

Louis said: "Yeah, I mean, this Nolan Galves looks like a decent little player, all things considered, having briefly looked at sort of his stats and all that.

"But, you look at this situation at QPR at the right-back position, and we had Jimmy Dunne play there a lot, we had Mbengue play there a lot, and really, I'm not including Adamson because he shouldn't even be in the first-team squad.

"We don't actually tend to have a right back, so I think we definitely need one because, obviously, look, Mbengue had an overall solid season, but he is normally a centre-half. Obviously, Dunne played centre-half when they switched with him and Mbengue, but they are technically centre-halves, both of them.

"So, we need at least one right back, and look, I think we'll sign one, and that will be enough because of, obviously, the cover with Mbengue and Dunne, etc. But yeah, one hundred per cent we need to sign a right back.

"And this fellow, we're obviously looking at potentially young, exciting potential, and I think Millwall are heavily involved, and if we can pip them to a signing, I think that would show that we're quite an attractive club to join, considering the season they had compared to us in the end.

"So yeah, I just think a name like this isn't a surprise with the recruitment that we're sort of looking at. I think there'll probably be other names such as this popping up every now and then now that the windows open.

"But he looks decent, and I think this sort of signing could work, and this is where you pick up these players abroad. Obviously, not every signing is going to work out like we've seen, but you could potentially get hidden gems, and this guy could be quite an exciting little player.

Julien Stephan must address Queens Park Rangers' right-back problem this summer even if their bid for Nolan Galves is unsuccessful

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It goes without saying that Stephan must sign a new right-back at QPR this summer.

Whilst both Dunne and Mbengue have done a decent enough job there, their best positions lie in the middle of defence, and Stephan ought to ensure that is the case heading into next season.

Whether Galves is the right option remains to be seen, but the clubs interest in him signifies Stephan's intent on signing another option in that position over the coming months, which QPR supporters should only see as a positive.

The R's will be hoping to have a much stronger campaign next time around, and signing a right-back will boost those chances tenfold.