Opinion: QPR should look to solve striker shortage with addition of Arsenal man

With the 2022-23 Championship season now just two weeks away, transfer business is hotting up all around the league as managers try to get their squads in order before the big kick-off.

For Michael Beale though, this is all a new experience as he takes charge of his first ever senior side – that being Queens Park Rangers.

An assistant coach to Steven Gerrard in recent years at Rangers and Aston Villa, Beale has taken the plunge into being a manager for the very first time, and he has a job on his hands to follow in Mark Warburton’s footsteps at Loftus Road.

For a lot of last season, the Hoops were in play-off contention, only to fall away in the final couple of months of the campaign, eventually finishing in 11th position.

An area that the R’s are seemingly short in going into the new campaign is at the top end of the pitch thanks to Charlie Austin’s contract ending and Andre Gray’s loan deal from Watford coming to its conclusion.

Tyler Roberts has been acquired on a loan deal from Leeds United, but the Wales international is not exactly a forward who is a traditional number nine, having played as more of an attacking midfielder at times for Leeds United.

Lyndon Dykes cannot do it all on his own though, so Beale will need to bring in another centre-forward, and with Premier League clubs having a plethora of talent ready for EFL loans, the R’s should make a play for Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun.

If Balogun were to head to Loftus Road for the 2022-23 season, then it wouldn’t be his first Championship loan spell, having headed to Middlesbrough back in January for the second half of the most recent campaign.

However, Balogun didn’t have the most productive of stints on Teesside, scoring just three times in 18 second