Despite only joining Queens Park Rangers in the summer, striker Zan Celar has an uncertain future at Loftus Road.
Celar joined QPR from Lugano in July, and the Slovenian international appeared to be a promising addition to Marti Cifuentes’ team considering his stellar goal-scoring record when playing for the Swiss team.
The 25-year-old had a difficult start to his R’s career, failing to score in his first 19 games. However, he opened his account in November when he scored twice in the team’s 2-0 victory over Cardiff City.
Celar’s brace against the Bluebirds would have given Hoops fans hope that he could build on it, but he was sidelined for more than a week after suffering a hamstring injury in the team’s 3-0 victory over Norwich City.
Celar has apparently been offered to Werder Bremen, but the Bundesliga team turned down the offer because of his injuries, according to Deichstube, who made the shocking allegation this week that Celar is eager to leave QPR during the January transfer window.
In response to a question about whether Celar should be sold in January, FLW’s QPR fan commentator Louis Moir urged the team not to cash in on the striker, arguing that despite his challenging start at Loftus Road, he shouldn’t be written off just yet.
“Celar had a pretty horrendous start to his career with us, but it was such a shame he got a big injury because he was hitting form and was looking a better player for us,” Louis stated.
“If he chose to quit so early in his QPR career, especially when it was just getting started before the serious injury, I’d be shocked.
“It’s simple to argue that we should try to sell him and cash in, but I simply don’t see that happening because of his ailment. After all, what player leaves a club while still injured?
“We’ll see how he performs after recovering from his injury, but there’s no guarantee that he will maintain his form. You never know what may occur over the summer timeframe.
“There is undoubtedly a player there; we were beginning to notice it prior to his injury, but it’s premature to declare him to be unfit.
You can’t write off a player that quickly, and I suppose the other thing is, as this injury is a bad one, how will he come back? It’s hard to say.
“It’s way too early to be writing him off, and hopefully he will be back sooner than we think and continue what we were seeing from him.
“There’s no denying he is a goalscorer, and although the level he has played at may not be the best, he has proven he’s a natural goalscorer.
“There’s still something telling me that we can’t be writing him off yet and selling him.
“We spent a lot of money on him as well, so hopefully he can stay and kick on again.”
It is unclear whether there is any truth to the reports that Celar is keen to leave QPR, but it would be a surprise to see him depart so soon after arriving at Loftus Road.
Celar has failed to produce his best form since joining the R’s, but he was far from the only player to underperform in the opening months of the season, and he was showing signs of improvement prior to his injury.
Cifuentes described Celar as a “very good player” after his double at Cardiff in November, so the Spaniard will likely be keen to keep hold of him, particularly considering the lack of depth in the striker department.
It would be difficult for the Hoops to sell Celar this month due to his injury, but they must reject any bids they receive for the striker and give him until the summer to prove himself at Championship level.
