Redknapp eyeing up former charge to fill striker void at QPR

QPR’s striker exodus this summer has left the Hoops in dire need of quality replacements and Jermain Defoe could be one man to help fill the void.

Despite odds of 1/3 implying that Tottenham striker Defoe will still be at White Hart Lane when the window closes, rumours are rife that his former boss Harry Redknapp will attempt to lure him to Loftus Road.

With Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy apparently receptive to bids of £6m for the player, the 7/2 on Defoe completing a move across London suddenly appears more plausible.

The move is certainly a conceivable one for both parties given a fertile set of circumstances at each club, with QPR desperate to bring in another top striker and Tottenham having just emptied the piggy bank on record signing Roberto Soldado.

QPR have been shifting strikers at a rate of knots this season as Redknapp looks to completely re-jig the squad which took the Premier League plunge last term.

Loic Remy’s recent loan move to Newcastle is just the last in a long list of attacking departures, with Djibril Cisse, Jay Bothroyd, Jamie Mackie, DJ Campbell and Adel Taarabt following suit.

Although Burnley’s top scorer of last season Charlie Austin has been recruited, concerns over the fitness of Bobby Zamora and the seemingly eternally injured Andrew Johnson mean signing another striker could be crucial to QPR’s promotion bid.

Having nurtured Defoe’s emerging talent by signing him for West Ham and subsequently taking him to Portsmouth and then back to Tottenham, Redknapp has clearly exercised an influence over the player’s career and this could well be a key factor.

Under Andre Villas-Boas last season Defoe was increasingly forced to play second fiddle to Emmanuel Adebayor in the Portuguese manager’s preferred system of one main striker, where he spent lengthy periods on the bench.

Now Soldado has joined the club, the 30-year-old’s place in the pecking order looks likely to slide still further, especially given the two players are similar in their style.

The only real stumbling block is sure to be Defoe’s concerns over playing in the Championship whilst harbouring ambitions to be involved with England in this World Cup season.

However, talks with Three Lions manager Roy Hodgson this week could act as the deal breaker.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.