QPR’s first major signing of the summer demonstrates Marti Cifuentes’ resolve.
The Spaniard demonstrated pragmatism after taking over a squad on the verge of relegation last season.
Recognising the physical nature of the Championship, the team’s limitations, and, of course, the pressing necessity to score points, Cifuentes made concessions to his football philosophy in order to complete the task.
Jimmy Dunne was placed at right-back, providing an additional aerial presence at set-pieces, which had previously been a major problem for Rangers, and Cifuentes was generally willing to be more muscular and direct.
And the job was done admirably, with Rangers staying up with a game to spare, six points clear of the relegation zone where they had been for much of the season, thanks to victories against Leicester and Leeds.
Cifuentes has appropriately received praise, and his popularity among supporters is currently high.The obvious question has been whether that pragmatism will continue, if at all, after the end of the season. Will he then try to enforce something more akin to his favored style?The hiring of French goalkeeper Paul Nardi addresses that question.Nardi has been signed on a two-year contract after his contract with Belgian club Gent expired.
Several English clubs, including some in the Premier League, have previously expressed interest in Nardi.Standing at roughly 6ft 1in, he is not the type of larger, more physically imposing goalkeepers that teams want.
He is, however, good with the ball at his feet, which is largely why he has joined QPR.As a starting point for summer additions, it demonstrates what Cifuentes is looking for: a club capable of playing out of the back, including a goalie.
Is this an improvement?
It’s somewhat strange that Nardi joined on the same day that former Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly moved to Glasgow from Motherwell.
Mark Warburton’s recruitment of Kelly in 2019 represented a similar declaration of purpose, since he was similarly determined to enforce a possession-based style.
Kelly’s talent with the ball at his feet was important to Warburton.
QPR will hope that this signing is more successful. Kelly is a competent goalkeeper, but the move to London did not work out, with both he and Joe Lumley suffering before Seny Dieng emerged, providing a significant – and, at the time, much-needed – improvement.
Nardi lacks Dieng’s physical stature. However, the hope is that he will be an improvement over what has come before.
At 30, he is still young for a goalkeeper and should be entering his prime years.
The same cannot be said about Asmir Begovic, whose signing a year ago was a mistake.
Begovic was a good goalkeeper in his day, but in recent years he has demonstrated a readiness to serve as a backup.
That, along with then-manager Gareth Ainsworth’s fanfare over the signing of a very well-known player, should have raised red flags.In some ways, QPR’s decision to hire a keeper based on their profile and attributes, as well as how they fit into the manager’s preferred style of play, marks an upgrade.
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