Willock’s performance indicates that the R’s prospects of surviving are improving.
HIGHLIGHTS
- QPR’s recent form under manager Marti Cifuentes has improved significantly, with victories over Stoke, Preston, and Hull City.
- Cifuentes has revitalized the team, as they have now scored more than one goal on home soil for the first time in over 400 days.
- Chris Willock’s resurgence under Cifuentes is crucial to the team’s success, but it also puts him at risk of being targeted by other Championship clubs in the upcoming transfer window.
Since Marti Cifuentes became QPR boss at the end of October, the R’s have been in great form, and look on course to avoid relegation, which is worrying for sides such as Huddersfield Town and Stoke City.
Under the former Hammarby manager, the R’s have been playing free-flowing football. Their first victory under Cifuentes came against Stoke, 4-2, and they then won 2-0 the next two games against Preston North End and Hull City.
After the R’s had not scored more than one goal at home in more than 400 days, Cifuentes’ arrival was heralded by the team’s 4-2 triumph over Stoke at Loftus Road in late November.
This season, Cifuentes has already managed to win more games for the West London team than former manager Gareth Ainsworth did. This is a statistic that may be as telling of Ainsworth as it is encouraging of Cifuentes.
The possibility of Cifuentes bringing his own players to Loftus Road during the upcoming January transfer window would thrill the R’s supporters because the Spaniard has already turned the team’s fortunes around without his own players.
The fact that Cifuentes has re-energized Chris Willock, who has been instrumental for the R’s since joining from Premier League powerhouse Arsenal in 2020, may be the most significant development. Willock is producing in West London once more.
Championship rivals could come calling for Willock in January
Willock’s re-found form appears to be great for Cifuentes, and is a credit to the manager’s coaching ability, which has also boosted the R’s chances of Championship survival, but it comes at the cost of potential transfer interest from second-tier rivals, with the January transfer window just around the corner.
The former Arsenal player scored a goal in each of the R’s first three wins under Cifuentes, and also bagged an assist in the 2-0 win over Hull, which arguably shows that one of Ainsworth’s biggest shortcomings was the lack of game-time he gave to Willock.
Willock is a player who provided seven goals and 11 assists in the 2021/22 season as the R’s finished 11th that Championship campaign, and his form early on under Cifuentes’ tenure shows he has the potential to hit those kind of figures again, making him an attractive acquisition for any side in the second-tier.
Middlesbrough may renew their interest in Willock
Boro were reportedly interested in Willock over the summer, and with the ace having re-ignited his form, Michael Carrick’s side may come calling again in January, in order to bolster their squad as they contend for the play-off spots.
The injury suffered by Riley McGree back in October could provide Carrick with further encouragement to bring Willock through the doors at the Riverside, as there is no guarantee that upon McGree’s return, the Australian will hit the same sort of form he did before injury.
Willock blatantly has the sort of quality which would make him an asset for any play-off chasing side, and since Cifuentes’ arrival at the R’s, he has made this very apparent, so the West london outfit must brace themselves ahead of the transfer window.
The R’s must not welcome transfer interest in Willock
With Willock on top form, the R’s’ chances of survival are very much looking up, but take the Arsenal youth academy product out of the side, and you’re looking at a team with less quality and less goals than the one with Willock in it.
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