New Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is eyeing up a January move for Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin according to ESPN FC. He is likely to go head to head with former club and North-East rival Newcastle United alongside others, in the hope of securing his signature.
26-year-old Austin, who once plied his trade with Swindon Town and Burnley, scored 18 goals last season as the Loftus Road club were relegated from the Premier League. Over the summer he was an in-demand striker from a host of Premier League clubs, but QPR managed to persuade him to stay on.
Leicester City saw a £12million bid rejected, with QPR stating that they were only interested in bids of at least £15million. He is currently in the final year of his contract and it remains to be seen if he will sign an extension. Head Coach Chris Ramsey and owner Tony Fernandes may look into the prospect of cashing in on their stay striker in January, especially if they are certain of losing him at the end of the campaign.
Austin is currently unavailable because of injury, but he’d certainly be fit enough for action in January. Austin did reveal on Twitter late in August that he was committing his future to QPR this season. It remains to be seen if the same applies should a few hefty bids come in through the fax machine in a few months’ time.
