Queens Park Rangers fans have seen the last of Toni Leistner in the Championship – he’s shining in the Bundesliga on loan at Cologne now.
Toni Leistner believes he has played his final game for Queens Park Rangers with the defender hoping to secure a permanent move to the Bundesliga, speaking to BILD.
Back in the January transfer window, a QPR side who had spent the first half of the 2019/20 campaign shipping goals at an alarming rate saw arguably their best and most influential centre-half head for the door.
29-year-old Leistner joined Cologne on loan and, as luck would have it, his return to Germany has coincided with a remarkable run of form from the Billy Goats.
Markus Gisdol’s team were stuck in a very perilous position when he arrived but have since won three of their last four games, propelling themselves into the relative safety of mid-table.
And Leistner admits that, given the option, he won’t be heading back to West London any time soon.
“The fact is that I will not return to the Rangers. I want to continue playing in the Bundesliga, preferably in Cologne,” he says.
The former Dinamo Dresden ace, who captained QPR under Mark Warburton, was at pains to point out that no talks over a permanent deal have taken place yet with the global health crisis putting the entire German game on pause for the time being.
Leistner has another year remaining on his contract at QPR and Cologne, who are likely to be hit financially by the lack of gate receipts in the months ahead, may be hoping to agree a cut-price deal for a defender who has made a big impact on and off the pitch in the Cathedral City.
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