Luke Freeman will be vital if Steve McClaren is to succeed at QPR

Follow us on Google Discover

Steve McClaren will be relying on Luke Freeman if QPR are to make a positive impression in their 2018/19 Championship campaign

Queens Park Rangers playmaker Luke Freeman will need to be at his imperious best if Steve McClaren is to succeed at Loftus Road in the new season.

The former Derby County boss joined the R’s a little over a fortnight ago and will have identified Freeman as his star man and to little surprise.

The 26-year-old recorded the second highest number of assists in the Championship last season with 12 and scored five times as Rangers finished in 16th position.

Freeman joined QPR in January 2017 and has quickly become a fan’s favourite in that time and McClaren will be keen to utilise his key attributes.

Renowned for his cultured left-foot, Freeman’s ability to pick a pass and score from outside the box are just some of the traits that make him standout and McClaren will need to nurture his talent’s correctly.

The former Newcastle United Head Coach is renowned for his tactical awareness and Freeman will be hoping he can blossom further under McClaren’s guidance.

Much has been made of the 57-year-old’s appointment and with no new signings over the line as of yet, it’s more likely that with QPR’s low transfer budget it’ll be a case of ‘work with what you’ve got’.

Players like Massimo Luongo and Alex Smithies remain vitally important to the R’s squad and the former has been brilliant linking up with Freeman throughout last season and McClaren will want to encourage more of the same in the new campaign.

It’s likely that the ex-England manager will adopt his preferred 4-3-3 formation with Freeman as the focal point behind the attackers and tasked with supplying the ammunition. With that said, a whole host of youngsters are staking a claim in the Rangers starting XI but the likes of Paul Smyth and Eberechi Eze are perhaps better placed to make an impression this season – with McClaren likely to identify somebody of Freeman’s talent’s to help their development.

The former Gillingham youth play joined QPR from Bristol City and has gone on to score seven goals and recorded 17 assists in 64 league appearances to date.