Taarabt urged to join QPR

28 July 2010

By Dave McIntyre

ADEL Taarabt should join QPR for the good of his career, according to Rangers' assistant manager Mick Jones.

Boss Neil Warnock has been trying to convince Taarabt to return to Loftus Road, where the Tottenham youngster spent last season on loan.

Spurs are happy to offload the 21-year-old Moroccan, who has long sought a move to Spain, but Jones is convinced Taarabt will make a mistake if he joins a club outside the Spanish elite.

Jones said: "We'd like him to sign for us, and it could still happen. The thing is, he's keen to go to Spain.

"I think he could get a move there. But he wants to join one of the really big clubs like Real Madrid or Barcelona, and I'm not sure that's going to happen.

"My advice would be that if he wants to get to the top, then he should sign for QPR. Neil Warnock will help him get to the top. The way Neil would manage him, he'd be perfect for him.

"All I can say is that Neil's still trying to sign him, and that I think he should sign. It'd be a good move for him - good for his career."

After a spell on loan at QPR the season before last, Taarabt was reluctant to return last summer.

Spain was again his preferred destination, and he believed a number of possible moves were blocked before Tottenham, whose manager Harry Redknapp is a friend of Rs chairman Gianni Paladini, sent him back to west London.

Taarabt, who clearly has no future at White Hart Lane, is once again pursuing a move overseas. He produced some of his best performances towards the end of the season - after a number of European sides had agreed to send scouts to watch him.

But no club is likely to come close to matching the wages he could command at QPR. Financially, neither the player nor Spurs can expect a better offer than Rangers'.

The Rs are close to completing the £500,000 signing of Bristol City defender Bradley Orr - but their long-running bid to capture Darren Ambrose from Warnock's former club Crystal Palace is over.

Ambrose, who had been keen to make the move, signed an improved contract at Selhurst Park this week after Palace made it clear they were not willing to sell.

"Even without Darren Ambrose, we've still got good players here - and there are other players that we're interested in," Jones added.