Football Rangers boss Warburton anxious to keep Robins target Wells
QPR boss Mark Warburton has said he is desperate to keep hold of on-loan Burnley striker and Bristol City target Nahki Wells.
The forward is a January target for the Robins – and Nottingham Forest and Wigan Athletic – as a host of Championship clubs circle a handful of strikers dotted around the EFL and Premier League.
The striker search merry-goround continues to spin, with the feeling growing that a move from one club will trigger a series of transfers as we reach the closing stages of the January transfer window.
And while QPR are not necessarily looking to bring in a forward, they are keen to keep hold of 13-goal striker Nahki Wells, who has the best minutes-pergoal ratio in the league this season. Wells has proved an astute signing for the Hoops and has turned the heads of several Championship clubs, with Burnley reportedly confident they can get a tidy fee for his services.
Warburton, however, has made it clear he hopes Wells decides to stay at Loftus Road beyond this month.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “Burnley are happy with his progress, we’re happy with how he’s performed and Nahki is very, very happy in London. They will control the situation. At the moment, all parties are very happy.”
Warburton also highlighted the difficulty of doing business in the winter window.
“The bigger picture here is that clubs splash money, they reach and overspend on players,” he said.
“A £2m player becomes £3.5m, the £3m player becomes £5m, and the £5m becomes £8m and so on.
“If you change job, it takes time to adjust. There’s an acclimatisation period – there’s moving, there’s family and you’re asking somebody to come in and perform straight away.
“I always find January intriguing because people just reach for players.”
Burnley are expected to make a decision on the future of Wells this week, but Warburton hopes his relationship with boss Sean Dyche can help keep the striker at QPR.
He said: “What other people do, I can’t control. Sean is a very good friend of mine, we’ve worked together closely. He’s very happy with his progress, we’re very happy with his performance. Nahki’s family are more than happy in London, so I hope very much (that he stays).”