Queens Park Rangers are set to hijack Rangers’ move for Kwame Poku, as per Pete O’Rourke.
A Rise Through The Leagues
Poku started his career in the youth set-up at non-league side Cray Wanderers before moving to Worthing United and making 12 appearances for the Rebels.
The versatile attacker, who can play on either wing or in attacking midfield, impressed in the Isthmian League and earned himself a move to League Two Colchester United in the summer of 2019.
Given that he was playing four divisions higher than the previous season, Poku had an excellent 2019/20 season. He scored five goals and provided four assists in just 29 league appearances for the U’s.
The following season was slightly tougher for the attacker. Despite playing 200 league minutes more than in 19/20, he failed to register a goal or an assist in the fourth tier.
Despite this, Peterborough United still recognised his potential and signed him in the summer of 2021 for what was described as “a substantial six-figure fee.”
The move to the East Midlands meant that the London-born man jumped two tiers further up the English pyramid. But, he was not quite ready for the Championship as he once again failed to score a goal in his 20 league appearances.
The Posh were relegated at the end of the 2021/22 season and Poku found life in the third tier much easier in the following campaign. He became an ever-present for Darren Ferguson’s men, scoring four times and providing eight assists in his first season in League One.
The attacker really exploded into life in the 2023/24 season where he registered 12 goals and eight assists in all competitions as Peterborough won the EFL Trophy at Wembley.
Last season, Poku was set to have one of the most dominant individual seasons in League One history, though an injury which kept him out for three months slightly disrupted this plan. The 23-year-old still ended the season with 22 combined goals and assists in just 31 league appearances, winning Peterborough’s Players’ Player of the Season and the foreverposh Player of the Season awards.
Queens Park Rangers’ Need For An Attacking Spark
QPR had a solid, if unspectacular, campaign last season under the leadership of Marti Cifuentes.
The R’s had a poor start to the season but enjoyed an excellent run in the winter which saw them stay well clear of the relegation battle.
They suffered from injuries to key attacking players like Ilias Chair and Karamoko Dembele which left the side looking devoid of creativity at times.
The West London-based side also struggled to find a consistent source of goals. Striker Michael Frey scored just eight league goals for the R’s last season (though he did suffer a fairly lengthy injury) and their second-highest scorer was right-back Jimmy Dunne with five goals.
Writer’s View
Choosing between QPR and Rangers will be a very difficult task for Poku.
Joining QPR will allow him to move back to the city in which he was born and it will give him the chance to prove himself in the second tier. The R’s also look set to appoint Julien Stephan as their new head coach and his excellent track record means that the club could be in for exciting times next season.
On the other hand, Rangers will be aiming to compete for titles in the Scottish Premiership and they can also offer Poku European football.
This move does not seem to have worked out particularly well for Peterborough who will, at most, receive a compensation fee for the attacker rather than a large transfer fee which they potentially could have secured last summer.
