Michael Beale plans to use Aston Villa connections in transfer market
Former Aston Villa Michael Beale assistant says he plans to utilise connections at his former clubs in the transfer market as Queens Park Rangers boss.
Steven Gerrard’s former right-hand man moved to Loftus Road earlier in June to become a senior manager in his own right for the first time.
Subsequently, loan moves for young talents such as Cameron Archer have been suggested to the Championship side, and Beale admits he could look to utilise his links to help his new side.
He spoke to talkSPORT on Thursday afternoon (23 June) and said, via the Birmingham Mail: “Of course yeah, Liverpool and Chelsea as well. I’ll be pulling in all of those connections over time.
“It is important that we build a team here for QPR and also provides sustainability in terms of the market. The last big player to leave in terms of a big fee was Eberechi Eze and we are a club that wants to develop players to give them an opportunity to play in the Premier League, ideally with QPR.
“There will be a little bit in terms of the loan market but obviously my background and the players I have worked with, I’ll be looking to use the free market and the players that I feel are hidden gems. We did that ever so well at Rangers.”
Boon
Far from the situation that fans sometimes dread where a former manager takes charge at another club and comes back to raid them for their best players, this could be of great benefit to Gerrard and Villa.
If there are players in the squad who need greater levels of first team football than are currently on offer with the Lions, then who better to loan them out to than a man the manager trusts and has worked with them before?
The club have been very active in the transfer market this summer, bringing in a number of high profile senior names, but have also maintained a focus on youngsters at the same time.
They won’t want those on the brink of the first team to stagnate if they can’t feature regularly so strategic loans will of course be an option.
It might be too early for the likes of Rory Wilson to be sent out to the second tier, but those who came before him such as Tim Iroegbunam might be perfect for a temporary move to aid their development.
Who might leave in this way before the start of the 2022/23 season remains to be seen but it sounds like Beale will be angling himself for first refusal on anyone who becomes available.
In other Aston Villa news, Iroegbunam is indeed likely to leave the club on loan this summer but a decision won’t be made yet.