What Julien Stephan has told Rumarn Burrell at QPR as boss drops exciting prediction | OneFootball

Julien Stephan has revealed his conversations with, and exciting prediction for, QPR attacker Rumarn Burrell

QPR have threatened to really kick on in the early stages of Julien Stephan's reign in charge after the Frenchman succeeded now-Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes in the summer, although the Hoops remain inconsistent in the Championship and will need to address notable defensive shortcomings in order to compete for a top-six spot heading into 2026.

The R's are currently positioned 13th in the league table, just four points shy of sixth-placed Preston North End, ahead of Wednesday evening's home showdown against lowly, and managerless, Southampton.

However, following strong form throughout September, QPR are yet to properly bounce back from last month's defeat at Millwall - which ended an unbeaten run of six matches including four victories - and have lost three of their last encounters, suffering consecutive losses against Derby County and Ipswich Town.

Saturday's 4-1 defeat to promotion-chasing Ipswich at Loftus Road amplified the defensive issues still lingering within Stephan's camp, with the Tractor Boys finding the back of the net on four occasions despite matching the hosts for shots on goal. It was not, however, simply an off-day, with QPR ranking 22nd in the division for goals conceded per match with 1.60.

That return is only higher than the two Sheffield clubs, who have both desperately struggled thus far in 25/26 and each find themselves situated considerably lower in the league table than the West London side.

Goalscoring, mind you, has been less of an issue, and while much can rightly be made of QPR's shaky defensive displays, Stephan has turned the Hoops into a dynamic, expansive and exciting attacking outfit. The R's have been among the more prolific sides in the Championship this season and can attribute no shortage of that to Rumarn Burrell, who is now finding his feet in W12 after completing a summer switch from Burton Albion of League One.

Julien Stephan reveals exciting Rumarn Burrell prediction at QPR

Despite recent results hardly going QPR's way, an ever-emerging positive has been served up with Burrell's performances. He's now growing into the Championship after requiring some time to settle in, having scored just once from his first nine appearances before rediscovering the goalscoring form which prompted QPR to take him out of Staffordshire back in July.

Burrell got himself on the scoresheet in defeats to both Millwall and Ipswich, and his first-half strike was enough to hand QPR a 1-0 win away at Swansea City on October 22.

It now means that the 24-year-old has scored three goals in his last four outings, which has prompted Stephan to reveal what he told the striker just two weeks ago, alongside an exciting prediction of what the future could hold.

Speaking on Burrell ahead of the Southampton fixture, Stephan explained: "I said to him two weeks ago he needs to be a killer to finish.

"He had some good opportunities to finish (earlier in the season), and preferred to do the pass, or take one more touch.

"He could become a very, very good striker."

Rumarn Burrell could prove a QPR transfer masterstroke

There has been plenty of evidence all season to suggest that QPR could end up pulling off something of a masterstroke with Burrell, who showed signs of liveliness, buzz and encouragement in the final third through his all-round game before finding prolific form in recent weeks.

Now, though, with the goals starting to flow and the four-cap Jamaican international clearly feeling increasingly at home in the Championship, QPR can be excited about what's potentially to come.

Burrell clearly knows where the back of the net is, having scored 11 times from just 30 games for a Burton side which only narrowly swerved relegation to League Two last term after returning 36 strikes across the previous two campaigns in the Scottish third-tier.

According to reports, QPR shelled out a fee worth just north of £1 million for his services. If the ex-Middlesbrough prospect does indeed blossom into a "very, very good striker" — in accordance with Stephan's prediction — then that sum could be made to represent a bargain further down the line.