The club needs to be in charge’ – QPR chief makes transfer admission following Armstrong departure to Bristol City

Marti Cifuentes has urged QPR to try and avoid departures similar to that of striker Sinclair Armstrong.

The Republic of Ireland international joined Bristol City on Friday for an undisclosed fee after Armstrong entered the final 12 months of his contract at Loftus Road.

Rangers saw attacking midfielder Chris Willock leave the club at the end of his contract earlier in the summer.

“The logic in football is you cannot afford to lose players out of contract, especially if they have certain value,” said Cifuentes.

“We need to understand that we need players that want to play for QPR, that’s most important.

“If both parties are happy we need to stretch that relation and if not, if a player feels that he needs to find somewhere else, it is fine but the club needs to make sure that it is in charge. In that sense I think it was the right decision [to let Armstrong leave].

“As much as I was happy with Sinclair and I think he has fantastic potential, at the same time he was in the last year of his contract.

“We’ve got a new striker in who we trust a lot and I am looking forward to seeing what he can do for the team.”

QPR completed the signing of Slovenian international Zan Celar just after Armstrong’s departure was confirmed.

The forward did not feature in Saturday’s 2-0 pre-season defeat to Tottenham but Cifuentes has been impressed with his fitness after playing for his country at Euro 2024.

“He came in pretty decent shape because he didn’t have a long holiday after the Euros,” said Cifuentes.

“He has trained individually the last few days but hopefully he can join the group and from there we’re going to decide if he can be involved in the next game.”

PICTURES: ROB AVIS