Charlie Austin is as good as sold to another Premier League club if QPR take the plunge, admits Chris Ramsey.
The club’s interim coach would like to hang on to the club’s leading scorer of course, because it means Hoops escaped relegation, and Ramsey keeps his job with the word ‘interim’ removed.
But a coach with two university degrees and four decades in football was cuttingly candid on the chances of Austin lining up against the likes of Rotherham next term as he prepares to face Crystal Palace.
He said: “When somebody sparkles at bigger or smaller clubs, there’s always going to people in there to poach them or to buy them and make their clubs better.
“So we would be foolish not to be worried we’re going to lose him. We hope we don’t, and we’re glad he’s performed in a way that other teams are trying to secure his services.
“He’s one of the top strikers, it’s not my decision whether he stays or goes, but any top striker always goes for top dollar.”
Rangers would look to top the £28 million Manchester City paid for Wilfried Bony if the worst came to the worst, and Ramsey was in doubt what anybody would be getting for a former bricklayer who came through football the hard way.
“If you know the boy, you know he’s a whole-hearted footballer,” the coach added.
“He realises this has been a big chance for him to be in the shop window, and he’s repaying QPR with the faith they’ve shown bringing him in. If you saw him saving one off the line the other day against Tottenham, he’s relentless in his pursuit to get better.
“To his credit he hasn’t thrown the towel in. When you do score that amount of goals, sometimes in some clubs people do throw the towel in with the thought there are better and bigger things at the end of the season.
"He’s still playing like he’s trying to prove himself.”
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