QPR want DJ Campbell back – but he may choose permanent move to Ipswich Town

DJ Campbell celebrates scoring on his Ipswich Town debut Copyright Ashley Pickering

IPSWICH Town have made such a positive impression on DJ Campbell that he may spurn the chance to make it at his boyhood club come January in favour of signing permanently at Portman Road.

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The 31-year-old striker admits it was ‘dream move’ to sign for Queens Park Rangers in 2011, but an injury-hit first campaign at the club he grew up supporting meant he was excluded from Mark Hughes’ 25-man Premier League squad and told to train with the reserves last summer.

A three-month loan switch to Championship strugglers Ipswich, which has so far included four goals in eight games, has put a smile back on his face though.

And although his parent club – bottom-of-table and without injured strike duo Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson for the foreseeable future – have come calling, he is not sure if he wants to go back.

“QPR’s representatives have contacted my advisors to express an interest in me coming back once my loan expires in January,” revealed Campbell, who could be added to a re-jigged 25-man squad in the New Year.

“I kind of knew that they wanted me back not long after I joined here, but whether I want to go back after all that’s happened I don’t know.

“Back in the summer the gaffer (Hughes) had his 25-man squad and everyone else was training with the reserves. I would like to think I am better than that – I’ve achieved a bit in my career and felt I should have been training with the first team.

“It did hurt. I’d left Blackpool with a heavy heart to go to QPR because they were the club I supported as a boy, I went to watch them many times from the stands as a kid and always hoped that one day I would play for them.

“To go back there was a dream for me to be honest, but it didn’t quite work out for me there last season and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. It’s not always a good idea to go back.”

Ipswich Town may be locked in a Championship relegation battle, with fellow-strugglers Peterborough United visiting Portman Road tomorrow, but Campbell says that wouldn’t put

him off signing in the New Year.

“I wouldn’t do another loan – I want to move somewhere permanent,” said the former Blackpool striker. “Unless I play a certain number of games at QPR in the second-half of the season then I am out of contract next summer.

“And to be honest I don’t like doing the free transfer thing. I like to sort my future out for myself and my family earlier than that.

“Everyone I spoke to recommended I come here and nothing has made me regret that decision.

“I’ve loved my time here so far. The fans have been good with me, there is a great bunch of players and the gaffer (Mick McCarthy) and TC (assistant manager Terry Connor) have a plan for the future.

“This is a great club, with great tradition, and I feel as if good things are going to start happening here.

“A permanent move here would definitely be something I would consider in January. I am in a tough position really. I’ve come here and enjoyed myself, but QPR are a club close to my heart. It’s something I need to think about seriously.”