Charlton boss Bowyer linked with QPR job – but is there anything in it?

Lee Bowyer has been linked with the manager’s job at QPR.

Reports have suggested that the Charlton boss is a contender for the role and has been sounded out.

Bowyer’s contract at The Valley is due to expire at the end of the season and he has not yet been offered a new deal.

So is there anything in it?

Bowyer, whose chief scout at Charlton is former long-serving QPR coach Steve Gallen, would be keen to take over at Rangers following the recent sacking of Steve McClaren.

The former Newcastle midfielder was recently at Loftus Road to watch a game and was introduced to QPR co-owner Tony Fernandes.

However, Fernandes, who has installed previous managers, is not currently leading the process of appointing McClaren’s successor.

Bowyer is not currently among the front-runners for the Rangers job. Tim Sherwood is director of football Les Ferdinand’s first choice and there is also strong interest in Gary Rowett, Mark Warburton and Michael Appleton.

Former R’s winger Gareth Ainsworth, now Wycombe manager, was until recently regarded by Rangers as one of five possible replacements for McClaren, who had been on thin ice for some time.

Ainsworth is not out of the running, but momentum behind him has slowed somewhat in recent weeks.

QPR want to make a quick appointment, largely because financial constraints mean that recruitment this summer will be absolutely crucial and the club want to be ahead of the game – there was unease behind the scenes at McClaren’s reluctance to sign the kind of lower-level players Rangers are looking to bring in and develop.

If an appointment is not made before the end of the season, Bowyer and others could come into the equation and he would be able to tick one of QPR’s boxes in that he has worked on a limited budget at Charlton.

At the moment, though, he is not in the frame.