Queens Park Rangers attempted to sign Shay Given all the way back in 2012 but they may get their man if Alex Smithies returns to Huddersfield Town.
Alex Smithies did everything possible to quell speculation about an impeding exit from Queens Park Rangers. Sign a new contract until 2020? Check. Insist that you and your family could not be happier in the capital? Check.
Yet that has not stopped reports in Get West London suggesting that the goalkeeper could be enticed by a return to boyhood club Huddersfield Town if they win Monday’s play-off final and reach the Premier League’s Promised Land.
For QPR, the prospect of losing their penalty-saving specialist does not bare thinking about. They finished just one point above the Championship drop zone last season after all and may be planning for a campaign in the third tier if they could not call on the consistently excellent Smithies.
Nonetheless, Get West London claims that The Rs may be planning for Smithies potentially devastating departure this summer by mulling over a move for free-agent Shay Given.
Shay’s a Given
The 41-year-old was released by Stoke City at the end of the season just gone and his best years are most certainly behind him. The 134-time Republic of Ireland international has played just 29 league games since the beginning of 2012/13, the majority of those coming during a loan spell with Middlesbrough in 2013/14.
Shay Given was one of England’s finest goalkeepers during his time at Newcastle
Therefore, it appears likely that Given would be a short-term stop-gap rather than Smithies’ successor between the sticks.
Yet, the veteran ‘keeper could well be tempted to stave off retirement for a little longer by moving to Loftus Road – five years after they were heavily linked with a £5million move, as reported by the Daily Mail.
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