QPR attacker not planning for a move away – and ready to step up if Eze and Osayi-Samuel are sold
BY ALESSANDRO SCHIAVONE
Ilias Chair wants to stay at QPR for one more season and become the main man at the club should talismen Ebere Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel both end up getting sold.
Chair’s burgeoning reputation has seen him attract interest from several clubs amid speculation that he could already depart this summer, but the player feels he has unfinished business in west London and wants to better last season’s statistics.
Last term the attacking midfielder was a revelation as he scored four goals and contributed six assists in 41 Championship appearances but his rise has been largely overshadowed by team-mate Eze’s exploits.
Chair won over the doubters with a number of scintillating performances and now aims to step out of the shadow of his friends Eze and Osayi-Samuel, who are linked with moves to Premier League clubs.
In January 2019 the Belgian Moroccan player joined League Two outfit Stevenage on loan in search of first-team football and was branded “the best player ever to wear the Stevenage shirt” by manager Dino Maamria before he returned to QPR and gave a good account of himself.
Chair, who models his game on Eden Hazard and David Silva, wants to fire QPR back to the Premier League after a five year absence and replicate the success of countryman Adel Taarabt during the 2010-2011 campaign when he got the Hoops promoted almost single-handedly.
Chair has not given up on playing Premier League football with the Hoops and wants to give it another shot after ending last season in a 13th league position.
Promotion is a tall order given the competitive nature of the Championship but Chair can certainly draw inspiration from the past. The season before QPR sealed promotion in 2011 they had also finished 13th.
Chair does not intend to walk away but is aware that QPR are a selling club and it remains to be seen if director of football Les Ferdinand already decides to cash in on him this summer if an interesting offer comes along or wait for his price tag to rise.
PICTURE BY KEITH GILLARD
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