QPR manager will have final say on January signings, says Ferdinand

Les Ferdinand with Tony Fernandes, the QPR chairman PA Wire/Press Association Images

Les Ferdinand says he is happy to let Harry Redknapp have the final word on QPR’s January signings after the manager insisted his role would be “undermined” by someone else choosing his players.

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Ferdinand was appointed by Tony Fernandes, the club’s majority shareholder, as head of football operations in October.

Part of his remit in that role will be to identify players during the transfer window and present a list of targets to Redknapp.

But earlier this month Redknapp was fiercely critical of the influence of directors of football, saying the position “totally undermines your role as manager”. And, while QPR say Ferdinand’s role is different, his appointment does raise questions over who will oversee their transfer strategy.

Ferdinand says he will defer to Redknapp, but hinted that business in the new year will be limited compared to previous transfer windows.

“I’ve said to Tony that I think the manager needs to have the last say on the players he wants to bring into the club, as long as it falls in the remit of the club’s budget,” Ferdinand said.

“Tony’s brief was for me to deal with everything outside of what the manager does. I spoke to Harry before I came here and he knows the situation. I would not have come here if he had not been happy with it.”

Ferdinand, who made more than 170 appearances for QPR between March 1987 and June 1995, said he was delighted to be back. “It has taken me a long time to get back here. When I first left the club people said to me ‘I can see you managing QPR one day’,” he said.

“I have come back in a very different role, but a role that I wanted to do. I have been working towards it, I’ve done all my coaching badges and I’m on my pro licence at the moment. I met with Tony on several occasions and we discussed how he could get me back into QPR.

“He has been trying for a long time but the opportunity had not come around because I was at Tottenham coaching and under contract.”

Jermain Defoe, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker, will be one of the club’s targets in January.

Defoe, who Redknapp signed at both Portsmouth and Spurs, joined Major League Soccer side Toronto in January but is unhappy in Canada and keen on a return to the Premier League.

The 32-year-old came close to signing for QPR during the summer, and while Rangers maintain that there is no official deal in place for January, behind the scenes they are confident a move will take place. Ferdinand, who knows Defoe well from his time as a coach at White Hart Lane, said the forward would make an excellent addition.

“I have worked with Jermain and I know he is a very good player,” Ferdinand added. “We’ll have to see what happens in January. I don’t think there is a deal in place, I just think everyone is talking.

“It all depends how hungry he [Defoe] is. He has been away from the Premier League, and it depends on what position we are in as well. I think he is a natural goal-scorer, without a doubt. He has proven that wherever he has gone.”

Even if Defoe does not arrive in the new year, Ferdinand said another striker could be crucial to the club’s bid to survive in the Premier League. Charlie Austin has scored six goals in 10 matches so far – form which may well make him a target when the window opens – but Ferdinand feels the side is light up front.

“Bobby [Zamora] and Charlie have done exceptionally well in the last few games, but I think we need another one up there to help them,” Ferdinand said.

“It is imperative you have a Charlie Austin-type player scoring goals, because that is what is going to keep you in the division.

“At the moment he is in a rich vein and we hope he can continue that right to the end of the season. If he keeps performing then I think we will be ok. He is proving that he can handle being in the Premier League.”