January exit for QPR star Austin is ruled out

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• Striker has 18 months left on his current contract

• Redknapp says Premier League survival is key to keeping Austin

• But Rangers plan to offer vastly improved deal early in the new year

• Reports have claimed Liverpool are among clubs interested in the player

Harry Redknapp has reiterated that there is no prospect of Charlie Austin leaving QPR during the January transfer window.

The 25-year-old striker has scored 11 goals in the Premier League this season, prompting calls for him to be given an England call-up as well as speculation that Liverpool are interested in signing him.

Rangers plan to offer Austin a vastly improved contract early in the new year – he has 18 months of his current deal left to run.

Asked if there was a danger that Austin could leave, QPR boss Redknapp said: “Not at the moment, no.

AUSTIN’S POWERS

Soccer - Barclays Premier League - Queens Park Rangers v Hull City - Loftus Road

Swindon: 65 games, 37 goals
Burnley: 90 games, 45 goals
QPR: 45 games, 31 goals

“Once he gets into the last year of his contract then it’s a different proposition, but we’ve all got to just concentrate on this season and staying in the Premier League.

“If we do that then I’m sure we can secure his future at QPR. He’s got 18 months left and he’s not going anywhere in January.

“I’m sure we’d want to keep him here long term, but we’ve got to stay in the division this year, which I’m confident we will do, and Charlie’s proved he’s a Premier League player.

“It won’t be hard to keep his feet on the ground, because he’s a very level-headed lad. He’s loving every minute of what he’s doing.”

But Redknapp has no doubt that Austin, who was playing for non-League Poole Town five-and-a-half years ago, would score goals for a bigger club were he to be snapped up.

He said: “You have to remember that Charlie has scored his goals in a team that hasn’t made a million chances.

“We’re down there in the bottom third of the division. If he was in a team that was battering teams every week, making chance after chance, he might have 20 goals by now.

“When the chances come along, he takes them. Certainly if he was in a team at the top of the league – a Man City or Chelsea – I’m sure he’d get more chances because they dominate teams.”

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