QPR boss tips Armstrong for Premier League

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Mark Warburton says his QPR side will face a Premier League-standard striker in Adam Armstrong this weekend.

Armstrong has scored 18 goals this season for Blackburn, who travel to west London eighth in the Championship table and having won their past two matches.


Rangers manager Warburton said: “Adam Armstrong is an outstanding and in my mind a Premier League centre-forward, such is the quality of his finishing.

“I think he’ll go to the Premier League. He’s a very talented player and a natural finisher with both feet who scores all types of goals.

“There’s no doubt he’s a threat. We’re well aware of that. They’re a very talented team.

“But we’re a good team ourselves and are at home and have to impose ourselves and deliver a strong performance.”

Warburton also revealed he tried in vain to sign the 23-year-old when he was Nottingham Forest manager in 2017 and Armstrong was at Newcastle.

The then Magpies boss Rafael Benitez was reluctant to sell Armstrong, who was eventually allowed to join Blackburn the following year.

QPR, incidentally, wanted to take Armstrong on loan in 2016 but Newcastle did not want him to join what they considered at the time to be a promotion rival.

Warburton recalled: “We tried to get him from Newcastle. It was quoted as £2m at the time and Rafa didn’t want to let him go when we spoke.

“We had a good relationship with Newcastle but we couldn’t get him out the door, unfortunately.”