Exclusive: Derby County and Charlton Athletic in late race to sign QPR star | OneFootball

Football League World can exclusively reveal that Derby and Charlton are looking to bolster their squad with the addition of Sam Field

Derby County and Charlton Athletic are weighing up late deadline day bids for QPR midfielder Sam Field, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

Julien Stephan's arrival at Loftus Road has been the catalyst for several new stars to blossom for QPR, whether they're new arrivals or personnel that weren't in the limelight last season, and the emergence of Nicolas Madsen as a regular star for QPR next to Jonathan Varane in midfield has meant that Field has become somewhat expendable.

The 27-year-old has started just nine Championship games this season, and has been shoehorned in at left-back for the majority of those starts.

In the recent weeks when Varane has been sidelined through injury, Isaac Hayden has slotted in his place instead of Field, too, further emphasising his limited role in the current Loftus Road setup.

The central midfielder has been a mainstay of the QPR squad in the past few seasons. He started every game of the 2022/23 campaign, and even captained the R's in their opening day draw against Preston North End this season.

However, it's clear that his role has diminished as the year has gone on, and the experienced middleman is being eyed up by a couple of fellow Championship sides ahead of the transfer window closing at 7pm.

Derby County and Charlton Athletic plot Sam Field swoop

Football League World has learned that both Derby and Charlton are in the hunt for Field, as both sides look to add to their midfield pack ahead of the 7pm deadline.

Field is in his fifth full season at QPR, having initially signed on loan from West Bromwich Albion during the winter window of the 2020/21 campaign. Six years on, he could be on the move again.

Derby have had to chop and change the central midfield position at times throughout the season, as former captain Ebou Adams fell out of favour at Pride Park and departed for Portsmouth, while summer signings David Ozoh and Lewis Travis, alongside Liam Thompson, have battled with various injuries throughout the year so far.

The Rams replaced Adams with Borussia Mönchengladbach man Oscar Fraulo earlier on in the window for a small fee of £300,000, but, evidently, John Eustace wants some extra Championship experience as he looks to lead his side to the play-offs.

Meanwhile, Charlton, where Field spent his first loan spell away from West Brom back in 2019, could be angling for a return seven years later, as they are also aiming to add some experience to their midfield pack in a bid to stay up, which was given a massive boost following their 2-0 away win at Leicester City on Saturday.

Nathan Jones' side have added six new faces to their squad this January, but none thus far have been central midfielders.

With well over 200 appearances in the second tier, the majority of which have come from the off, there's no doubting that Field would be a clever signing for either, as both Eustace and Jones look to prioritise experience to help achieve two completely different goals at either end of the table during the second half of the season.