Nottingham Forest ‘target’ Massimo Luongo has been left out of the Queens Park Rangers squad for their pre-season trip.
Both Nottingham Forest are Leeds United are both interested in 26-year-old midfielder, according to London Sport.
Mark Warburton only took over at Loftus Road a matter of months ago, but already looks set to lose one of his star players. QPR are ready to sell the midfielder whose contract expires next year to avoid losing him for nothing.
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This will be a bitter pill for Warburton to swallow. He was interested in signing Luongo when he was previously manager of the Reds, but couldn’t get a deal over the line.
Speaking about Luongo’s emission from the squad, Warburton told the club’s official website: “Massimo’s future could now lie away from QPR and therefore it is important that we prepare for that eventuality.
“We will give opportunities in Austria to some of the club’s younger players who have come through the academy, such as Charlie Owens and Charlie Rowan.”
With both the Reds and Leeds the only teams to have been linked with Luongo so far, it will be interesting to see how this situation develops.
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Having just secured the signing of Tiago Silva, Sabri Lamouchi may not feel the need to sign Luongo. The reports linking the Reds with the Australian midfielder came before he was appointed.
Quality
There’s no doubt that Luongo would be an exciting addition to the squad.
He has played 145 Championship games during his four years at Loftus Road, netting 10 goals. That isn’t the best goalscoring record. However, he offers so much more than just goals.
As he’s a more defence-minded midfielder, he may be seen as an alternative to Jack Colback. Colback was pictured returning to training with Newcastle United and the Reds don’t seem to have been able to agree a permanent move.
In this case, Luongo would be a good alternative. He is also likely to be available on a much more sensible wage. It could prove to be good business.
As it stands, it could be argued that Leeds need to sign Luongo more.
They were very interested in signing Luongo’s teammate Luke Freeman. However, he has since decided to join newly-promoted Premier League side Sheffield United.
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This might mean that the Whites have to step up their interest in Luongo.
If the Reds do manage to lure Luongo to the City Ground though, then it would represent good business.