Kyle Walker comparisons & silencing doubters - inside Manchester United's Ethan Laird's QPR loan

After experiencing mixed fortunes at Bournemouth and Swansea City last season, Ethan Laird left Manchester United on loan for a fourth time in August, joining QPR.

The right-back, who is a product of United's academy system, swapped Swansea for Bournemouth midway through last season and experienced a torrid time on the injury front, being restricted to just six appearances on the South Coast. Just two months after arriving at Loftus Road, however, that experience is nothing more than a distant memory for the youngster.

Laird has already made ten appearances for the Championship promotion hopefuls, scored the first senior goal of his career and become a firm fans' favourite. If anything, his temporary switch to Shepherd's Bush is shaping up to be one of the wisest decisions United made all summer.

READ MORE: United can strengthen their right-back options for free

To find out more about Laird's development in the capital, MEN Sport spoke to Ian McCullough, who covers QPR as a senior football writer for West London Sport.

Q: How has Laird settled into life at QPR?

IM: Effortlessly. He has been labelled an excitement machine and already a crowd favourite after just ten games. His enthusiastic nature, blistering pace and high-class performances have fans comparing him to Kyle Walker, who spent three months on loan from Spurs in the 2011 season, helping them to achieve promotion to the Premier League.

Q: How big an impact has he had on the way that QPR play, given they play with a fairly narrow forward line?

IM: Full-backs are integral to the style that Mick Beale employs. Laird and left-back Kenneth Paal have both been integral to QPR's fine start to the season. Rangers are the only team in the Championship that play with