Speaking to London Football News, Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Warburton has said that the club are unlikely to send young defender Conor Masterson out on loan this January after his impressive performances in recent weeks.
In December, it was reported by West London Sport that Queens Park Rangers were keen for young defender Conor Masterson to head out on loan for the rest of the season, with the R’s keen on sending him out to a League One club to give him more experience of senior football.
However, with QPR struggling with injuries in their defensive department in recent weeks, Masterson has been called into action. The Irishman – naturally a left-back – has filled in at centre-back in recent weeks, playing 90 minutes in wins against Swansea City in the FA Cup and Leeds United in the league, also playing 45 minutes off the bench against Brentford.
And now, speaking to London Football News, QPR boss Mark Warburton has said that the club are unlikely to send him out on loan for the rest of the season after his promising displays. He said:
“Probably not, after that. Things happen for a reason. We’ve had Yoann out, Angel Rangel out and Toni out, so we were very thin. We’ve been lucky with our forwards keeping fit but we’ve struggled defensively.
“He was asked to plug a gap, did really well and you need to take the chance when it comes along. He’s a young player and the challenge he was presented with, we had to give a lot of thought to it. Is it the right challenge and one he can rise to, or is it one that the young player crumbles under?
“He did well against Swansea and did well in the second half at Brentford. He deserved to start. A lot of thought went into that. Toni Leistner was fit.
“You saw Conor’s response. He was excellent. The most pleasing thing for me was that he thoroughly enjoyed it. He loved it. He loved playing, he loved the competition and the challenge. All credit to him.”
