Player allowed to leave QPR ahead of January transfer deadline

Queens Park Rangers defender Niko Hamalainen will be allowed to leave the club between now and the end of the transfer window, according to a report from West London Sport.

It is understood that the R’s are willing to part ways with the defender due to the fact he is no longer part of Mark Warburton’s plans for the future.

After featuring on 22 occasions for QPR in the Championship last season, Hamalainen was loaned out by the club to Major League Soccer outfit LA Galaxy in August.

During his time with the American side, the 24-year-old made 14 league appearances as Galaxy secured an eighth place finish in the Western Conference.

Hamalainen returned to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium earlier this month following the completion of his temporary stint at LA Galaxy.

Despite the fact that the R’s have played five games in January, the left-back has not been included in the club’s match-day squads for any of these fixtures.

Currently being forced to watch on from the sidelines due to the presence of Lee Wallace, Hamalainen will fall further down the pecking order at QPR if he stays at the club as Sam McCallum is expected to make a full recovery from his hamstring injury next month.

The Verdict

When you consider that Hamalainen is not likely to feature for the R’s during the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign, it is hardly a shock that they are open to the possibility of parting ways with the defender.

The jury is still out on whether the Finland international is good enough to feature at Championship level as he only managed to record an underwhelming average WhoScored match rating of 6.37 in this division last season.

By joining a club who are willing to provide him with the opportunity to play regular first-team