Queens Park Rangers are not going to let head coach Marti Cifuentes walk away cheaply this summer and are commanding a “significant compensation fee” for the Spaniard, according to the latest reports.
The West London outfit looked certain to be heading for England’s third tier when the former Hammarby boss left his post in Sweden and was named as Gareth Ainsworth’s successor in the dugout. Cifuentes had no prior experience in English football and was certainly a risk taken by the QPR board.
https://therealefl.co.uk/2024/06/12/queens-park-rangers-transfer-plans-receive-major-blow/
However, this proved to be an exceptional decision by the hierarchy. When Cifuentes came to Loftus Road, the club were six points adrift of safety but by the end of the campaign were sitting above the relegation zone following three consecutive wins to close out the season, including an emphatic 4-0 victory over Leeds United at home to secure survival.
As a result of the monumental job he has completed, the Queens Park Rangers boss has been linked with other vacant positions in the Championship over the past few weeks. It was reported recently that Burnley were eyeing up the 41-year-old as a replacement for Vincent Kompany who has succeeded Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich.
Furthermore, there were rumblings that even Sunderland were looking at Cifuentes as a possible permanent replacement for Michael Beale, who was relieved of his duties all the way back in February. The Black Cats have been unsuccessful in their pursuit of a new manager so far, having already exhausted a lengthy list of candidates.
Nevertheless, the club’s hopes of appointing Cifuentes at the Stadium of Light have been dealt a significant blow as the Sunderland Echo are reporting that QPR are demanding a significant compensation fee for the highly-rated coach. Meanwhile, journalist Alan Nixon has revealed that the price tag is believed to be a six-figure sum.
Writer’s View
Over the past month, some huge jobs have become available in the Championship, including Norwich City, Sunderland, Hull City and Burnley so it’s not surprising that Cifuentes has been linked with a move away considering the job he did at Loftus Road.
However, the best piece of business that Queens Park Rangers can do this summer is keeping the Spanish coach in West London. He is arguably the club’s most important asset right now and losing him would cast a serious doubt on their hopes of building on this season’s 18th-place finish.
