QPR backed to land Birmingham City transfer - but one stumbling block may stop Hoops from striking deal | OneFootball

QPR have been linked with a move for Birmingham City midfielder Marc Leonard

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…

Birmingham City midfielder Marc Leonard has been the subject of interest from numerous clubs in the Championship this January, with Queens Park Rangers being the latest side to join the race for his signature.

QPR's season has been full of ups and downs, which has culminated in them sitting in 11th place just after the halfway point of the Championship campaign.

Led by former Stade Rennais and Strasbourg boss Julien Stephan, the R's are just three points off the play-off places as it stands, with a top-six finish very much in their sights come the end of the season.

The January window presents an opportunity for the West London outfit to strengthen areas of weakness, and with the likes of Ilias Chair, Jake Clarke-Salter, Liam Morrison, Jonathan Varane, Kwame Poku, and Rumarn Burrell out injured, reinforcements must be a priority at Loftus Road.

QPR have since reportedly entered the race for the signature of Birmingham midfielder Marc Leonard, who is seemingly available for transfer due to a lack of minutes at St. Andrew's this campaign.

QPR backed to make Marc Leonard move - midfield depth may prevent transfer deal occurring

Football League World's QPR fan pundit, Louis Moir, has shared their thoughts on the club entering the race for Leonard and whether he would be a good addition in the middle of the park.

Louis told FLW: "I wouldn't be surprised to see us bring another midfielder in."Obviously, with the ongoing rumours that Jonathan Varane could leave, you know, Sam Field not getting as much game-time as he has had in previous seasons, he might want to leave, and I'm pretty sure when Marc Leonard was at Brighton or went to Northampton, I'm sure there was a rumour or two that QPR were interested in him then."Maybe he's a player who the club have liked for a fair while, and I think obviously he's not played a lot for Birmingham recently, but I think he's a tidy player."This season's been very much constant of midfield of Madsen and Varane. Madsen, he's obviously been class, but you might need sort of another option in there, a similar sort of player to him."However, Moir believes that unless QPR get rid of one of their current midfield options, then Leonard will likely not arrive at Loftus Road, given that they have decent depth in that area of the pitch as it currently stands."Marc Leonard obviously looks like that sort of type, and if we do get another midfielder in, I think we'd only do it if, like, say, Varane or Field does leave," Louis added."I think Birmingham fans have maybe wanted Leonard to play more for them as well, so maybe not kicked on as much as he had hoped since joining them, but I think he's a decent, tidy little player and could do a job."I wouldn't not be happy about it. I think it'd be a decent signing and potentially one that, in the way we play in the middle, he could maybe stand out, because we've seen big performances from the likes of Madsen and Hayden when he's played as well, so I'd be all for it if Varane or Field do leave."

Marc Leonard would provide another option for Julien Stephan in QPR's midfield

Nicolas Madsen and Jonathan Varane have more often than not been Stephan's preferred duo in the midfield two at Loftus Road, with Isaac Hayden, Kieran Morgan and Sam Field acting as backups.

However, Varane has been heavily linked with a move away from the club this January, with French side St Etienne having multiple bids for the Martinician turned down by the R's.

Should QPR receive an acceptable offer for the 24-year-old, this would leave an area of weakness in the centre of the park, and something which Stephan would need to address.

This would explain the links to Leonard, who would not cost a handful and would likely not take much convincing to jump the Birmingham ship, playing less than 700 league minutes for the Blues this campaign.

The former Brighton man would provide another option in the R's' midfield, and would strengthen their promotion prospects as a result, with the club looking to make a return to the Premier League for the first time in over a decade.