For those QPR fans who might not know too much about Tjaronn, what sort of player has their club signed?





A left-footed midfielder with the touch of a classic 10 but with the stamina of a box-to-box midfielder. At FC Groningen, he had a free role from the 10 position but helped out all over the pitch, roaming to the right and left. He is a trigger-happy player; only Memphis Depay had more shot attempts than Tjaronn Chery. He’s renowned for his ability to shoot from distance and is quite the free-kick specialist. Apart from that, he has the ability to put a man through on goal. All in all, he is a bit of a late-bloomer, but at 27 there is still the feeling he has not approached his peak yet.





He had an excellent season last year. He’s more than a one-season wonder though isn’t he?





Absolutely. He earned each of his transfers, first from FC Emmen to ADO Den Haag and then from the club from the residency to Groningen. After a bit of a stuttering start at the club that had previous alumni in the brothers Koeman, Arjen Robben, Luis Suarez and Dusan Tadic, he found his form early 2014, becoming a deadly trio with winger Filip Kostic (now at VfB Stuttgart) and Richairo Zivkovic (Willem II, on loan from Ajax). Chery was the playmaker of the three, orchestrating the attack and steering the team towards a 7th place finish with qualification for Europa League football to follow. In the 2014/15 he continued that form, but stepped it up a bit further in 2015, where he was unplayable from time to time. He performed a crucial role in FC Groningen’s first ever major trophy win, the Dutch Cup, and was involved in 21 of the 49 Eredivisie goals the club scored. His big reward came at the end of the season, when Guus Hiddink invited him to join the Dutch national team. He is yet to make his debut, but he was on the bench in the friendly against the United States (3-4).





At 27 this is his first move outside of the Netherlands. Will he cope with the English game?





When he started out at FC Twente, the main critique levelled at him was his lack of physicality. Over the years, he’s grown a lot stronger. He can cope with the rigours of the game but apart from that he can rely on his awareness to do a trick for him. Especially against the bigger sides, when the tempo of the game was upped, it was his vision and awareness that made him stand out. In England, he should be able to use this quality and become one of the better players in the Championship.





Where would you say was his best position and why?





Tjaronn Chery used to be a winger when he was younger due to his lack of physique, but as he bulked up he was used in a more central role at ADO Den Haag. He joined FC Groningen at the prospect of being used as a 10 and I’d say that is his best position. The Den Haag-born has got the range of passing and the shot quality to make a difference from there. He is a very quick thinker with great technique and can play in a variety of positions. He has played as a right forward, a left forward and in all central midfield positions too, but with a bit of space to roam form a central position he’s at his best.





There were a number of sides after him – including Premier League teams – why was QPR the right fit for him?





The trust he felt from the manager and the club seemed essential in his move as there were other clubs after him. Queens Park Rangers were persistent in their wish of signing him up, he is sensitive to that. It was what ignited his move from ADO Den Haag to FC Groningen as well. Apart from that, he’ll probably relish playing in a more dominant team where he can get a lot of the ball.





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