'Why on earth' - QPR player tipped for future Loftus Road exit amid awkward situation | OneFootball

FLW's R's Fan Pundit shares the same view on not wanting Zan Celar to return from his Fortuna Düsseldorf loan prematurely

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 told to keep their tough stance regarding Zan Celar's transfer situation in Germany, but there's still hope for the 26-year-old to thrive somewhere else in Europe.

This comes after a report from Bild states the R's are refusing to cut short Celar's loan spell at Fortuna Düsseldorf - despite the German second-tier club's eagerness to have it terminated.

Seeing as though an option to buy is built into said loan deal for €2.5m, it now appears increasingly unlikely to be activated given the Slovenes' struggles for a second consecutive season. However, there should apparently still be teams who would want to sign him...

Queens Park Rangers urged not to recall Zan Celar from Fortuna Düsseldorf loan

FLW spoke with our QPR Fan Pundit, Louis Moir, to get an insight into the Celar loan update. Whilst he holds the same view as the club, in terms of not wanting him back, he claims the Slovenian international could still get back to his old Lugano form elsewhere.

Moir said, "It’s clearly not going well for Celar out in Germany. I mean, since he sort of joined us, his career’s really gone downhill, unfortunately. Obviously, hardly playing for Fortuna Düsseldorf and with them keen to end the loan deal, it’s not a good sign whatsoever.

In truth, the stats sum it up, just like last season. In just 10 league appearances so far - three of these being starts - for Fortuna, Celar has managed no goal contributions whatsoever. For Rangers last season, his only two goals were a brace in the same game.

The striker finds himself warming the bench every week, and with Fortuna themselves struggling at the wrong end of the table in the relegation playoff spot, the most minutes he’s had in a league game was 81’ back in September.

"Obviously, why on earth would we accept ending the loan deal, because it might be hard for another club to come in and be interested in taking Celar," the Fan Pundit added.

By apparently refusing to budge, QPR seem practically over the Celar experiment - if they weren’t already with the aforementioned option-to-buy clause. It just looks like it’s now up to the 2.Bundesliga outfit to look for another club to take him off their hands.

Queens Park Rangers outcast Zan Celar should still have interest in him from "clubs around Europe"

Moir continued in his assessment to talk about why some signings from abroad just don’t "fit", with Celar being the prime example.

The Fan Pundit explained, "I just think, if he’s not cutting it out there, he’s not impressing - he’s clearly not got a future at QPR - he comes under this bracket of a signing that just doesn’t fit.

"Sometimes, in English football, they [signings from abroad] just don’t click into like certain clubs, certain leagues, certain ways of playing, and he’s one of those signings where it just hasn’t worked out."

Perhaps every R's fan is aware by now that Celar scored 40 goals in 95 games for Lugano in Switzerland, but that is why his signature in July 2024 was initially a very exciting one.

"When we signed him it was exciting, a guy who was capable of scoring goals, decent reputation about him, played for the Slovenia national team - it’s a strange one," Moir added.

"I don’t know what the future holds for him really. I’d be shocked if there wasn’t any interest in him from clubs around Europe, but he needs to go somewhere to get his career back on track."

What we can all gather now though, is that what worked in the Swiss Super League for Celar hasn't translated into immediate success in the second tiers of both England and Germany. By saying 'clubs around Europe', the Fan Pundit might think a return to somewhere like Switzerland would be the best possible outcome.

Moir concluded by reiterating that, "at the very least in the summer window he will not be at QPR that’s for sure," and with the club not letting the forward come back this winter, it's fair to say they feel the same way.