Kolo Toure spoke yesterday of his frustration at falling down the pecking order in Manchester City's side. The defender was picked to line up alongside Vincent Kompany in the second game of the season against Liverpool, but has been out of favour ever since.
Joleon Lescott and young Serb Matija Nastasic have put him down to fourth choice, and he said yesterday that 'the club are showing me the way out.'
He added that he wanted to stay and fight for his place, but he seems accepting that leaving will be his best bet, adding that he is finding the current situation difficult.
So where will he end up? Well if he wants to remain in the Premier League, surely one option stands out head and shoulders above the rest.
QPR. The Hoops are currently struggling, without a win, and one of their key areas of weakness is in central defence.
They added a lot of players to their squad in the summer, but at centre-back they only managed to add 34-year-old Ryan Nelsen, and failed in their efforts to sign Michael Dawson.
Toure would immensely boost their back line, with his extensive Premier League experience, and he clearly still feels he has something to offer.
Not only that but he would be reunited with Mark Hughes, the manager who brought him to City in the first place and made him club captain, that is of course if Hughes remains in a job by then.
The defender would very much follow the pattern of previous summer signings, short-term and experienced stars. Toure would fit in well alongside Bosingwa, Cesar, and Park, and give the club a boost.
It's early days as to whether such a deal will materialise, so we're just putting it out there, but don't be surprised if the 31-year-old Ivorian ends up at Loftus Road in January.
Would you welcome Toure at QPR? Could it happen?
image: © Alfonso Jimenez
Dan Coombs
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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.
As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.
He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.
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