QPR step up search for centre-back

QPR are stepping up their search for a centre-back ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.

Rangers want a left-sided defender and are ready to let Conor Masterson leave on loan.

Enquiries have been made about a host of players, including Fulham’s Michael Hector and Cardiff’s Aden Flint.

But on Tuesday evening a deal to sign Flint was looking highly unlikely, while several other Championship clubs have shown an interest in Hector since he was recently left out of the Fulham side.

And there is plenty of interest in Masterson, who will be allowed to move elsewhere if another centre-back is brought in.

Plans to loan him out last January were scrapped after he broke into the first team and impressed.

However, QPR manager Mark Warburton has since been concerned that the youngster’s encouraging run of games might result in Masterson – who had not made a senior appearance prior to his arrival from Liverpool last year – missing out on vital first-team experience by remaining on the fringes of the Rangers side rather than going out on loan.