Two Replacements For Josh Bowler Who Queens Park Rangers Can Target
Everton are reportedly close to agreeing a deal with Queens Park Rangers for starlet Josh Bowler, though the West London club has offered him a new contract in an attempt to keep him at Loftus Road.
Although the club, like any other team in the Championship, may welcome the money, it seems like they would rather genuinely retain the player for the new season. The 17-year-old only made his first team debut on the final day of the season as QPR were beaten at Carrow Road by Norwich, but made an impact playing for the U-23s.
Everton are on a major spree at present and look to be getting their man though, so who can we expect QPR to look at in order to plug the gap? Here are two possibilities.
Hakeeb Adelakun (Scunthorpe United)
There is little point in replacing Bowler unless they do it with youth, and in the case of 21-year-old Adelakun the player may welcome a return to London.
Having been seen as not good enough at West Ham, the winger moved to Scunthorpe United academy four years ago and has had his first team breakthrough since then. Across League One and the EFL Trophy, Adelakun played 23 times last season scoring 4 goals and making 5.
He deserves a slight step up now in order to expedite his progression through the football ranks and QPR could be the ideal destination for him.
Alex Gilliead (Newcastle United)
Another pacy 21-year-old who is ready for a better level is Newcastle winger Gilliead. Loan spells at Carlisle, Luton and Bradford have seen him gradually move up the football pyramid in England and so the Championship is the next natural step for the lad.
He is under contract at the Toon for one more year and needs a good season at a reasonable level in order to grab a big move next summer. He certainly has the talent for the Championship and is battle-hardened now. Given that Bowler never really had time to make any significant impact in the QPR first team; you could not say that Gillead would be a step down for them.
Whatever he could produce for Rangers may be a bonus for them, and given that he made over 30 appearances last season, you would think that he could offer something to them as an impact player from the bench at the very least.