QPR director of football Les Ferdinand has confirmed that the club are hoping to agree a deal to sign Luke Freeman from Bristol City before next week’s transfer deadline.
An offer for Freeman has been rejected but the 24-year-old winger’s contract expires at the end of the season and Rangers are looking to persuade City to sell rather than risk losing him on a Bosman free transfer this summer.
Ferdinand told the Brent & Kilburn Times: “We’re certainly hoping to get a deal done before the window shuts.
“I always find this window very, very difficult because teams don’t want to let their best players go, and if they know you want them they’ll hold you to ransom for it.
“But we’ve got a week to go yet and we’ll be looking to bring in a few more before the window shuts.”
Earlier this week, QPR manager Ian Holloway criticised Bristol City counterpart Lee Johnson for his comments about Freeman and suggested there was no possibility of a deal.
Johnson recently dropped Freeman, explaining it was because of uncertainty over the player’s future and interest from another club.
“I think that’s gone. We had a chance to do something and they didn’t want our offer,” Holloway told West London Sport.
“They’ve let it out at the wrong amount, I know what I offered. A Bristol City fan shouted at me in his car when I was down in Bristol. But get your facts right.
“The fact is if you’re letting your players run out of contract and you’ve only got six months to go then that’s your fault, not anybody else’s.“They’ve said all sorts of things and their manager has made statements about it.
“If you’ve turned down an offer from someone, why do you have to go out and talk about it? It don’t make sense.”