QPR opened their Championship campaign on the greatest possible note, winning 3-1 away at Portsmouth to lead the standings after the opening round of games.

There is some quiet enthusiasm about the Hoops following a few aggressive transfer windows in the previous year, in which young players with big ceilings have been targeted, implying that their natural progression could surprise a few detractors this season.

The star of their January transfer window was former England Under-21 international Ronnie Edwards, who arrived from Southampton for £4.5 million, returning to the club after a successful loan spell during the 2024/25 season to help strengthen up the defence.

The 23-year-old was regarded as one of the EFL’s most promising young English players when Southampton signed him from Peterborough United, and this time last year, he was playing for the Saints under Will Still, who had title dreams.

Burnley expressed interest in Ronnie Edwards this summer.

In some respects, QPR fans couldn’t believe their luck when they re-signed Edwards, as it was evident when he returned to Southampton at the end of his loan period that he had the capacity to rise through the ranks.

And, while it didn’t work out for him at St Mary’s, that doesn’t mean his potential is gone, as Burnley recognised in the early stages of the transfer window.

In mid-July, it was claimed that the recently relegated Premier League team, who had just lost star defender Maxime Esteve, were interested in replacing him with Edwards in order to assist the 23-year-old achieve his Premier League potential.

While the Hoops have those ambitions, and Edwards will be an important part of getting there, a team coming down from the top flight would have the ability to get there much faster than QPR, who are just getting started, as well as the money to lure the defender away from Loftus Road.

Understandably, Hoops fans hoped he would stay, and with the reports dying down over the last month, it appears that will be the case.

Burnley’s interest in Anel Ahmedhodzic might be the end of Ronnie Edwards’ pursuit.

Burnley are still looking for a new center-back this summer, but it appears that they have shifted their emphasis to former Sheffield United player Anel Ahmedhodzic to replace that position in the backline.

According to the Sheffield Star, Burnley and Southampton are leading the hunt for the Bosnian, who was instrumental in the Blades’ 92-point season in 2024/25, which ended in play-off heartbreak in the final against Sunderland.

He was sold to Feyenoord for £7 million in the final year of his contract last summer, although he could return to the EFL for only £4 million the following year. That cut-price is not due to a lack of playing time, as he started all 26 Eredivisie games.

The Dutch club is willing to trade Ahmedhodzic for financial reasons, and Burnley might be the Championship club to profit. Inadvertently, it may also aid QPR.

Keeping Ronnie Edwards would be a major help to QPR this summer.

Edwards is a fan favourite at Loftus Road; keeping him this season would assist to keep the atmosphere positive while also providing a significant boost to Julien Stephan’s team on the pitch.

Ronnie Edwards’ per-90 stats in the Championship last season.

Defensive contributions.

9.10

Successful passes.

50.84

Accurate long balls

2.75

Longball success rate

52.3%

Clearances

6.36

On opening day against Portsmouth, the 23-year-old played in the middle of the midfield, a position he had only sometimes played at Peterborough, adding another layer to his game and cementing his place in Julien Stephan’s side.

When Nicolas Madsen recovers from injury, or Glen Kamara and Jonathan Varane are ready to play complete 90s, he’ll likely slide back into the backline, making the squad much more balanced and defensively solid.

Good defensive numbers could propel QPR to an outsider’s drive for the play-offs.

Last season, QPR surrendered 16 more goals than their underlying figures indicated. In terms of predicted goals conceded, the Hoops were in the middle of the standings, but only Sheffield Wednesday conceded more.

Not having any consistency in goal didn’t help – Julien Stephan gave league minutes to three different goalkeepers last year – but it appeared like, especially last summer, a lot of effort was being put into improving the offensive options rather than the backline.

This summer has been kind of an opposite. Pierce Charles and Calum Ward have arrived as new goalkeepers, while Dennis Cirkin, Tariq Lampety, and Boy Kemper have joined as full-backs.

Keeping Edwards in that backline will be just as crucial as making those additions, as he possesses the talent to be a top-class Championship center-back right now – and possibly excel at a higher level in the future.

With him leading alongside to Jimmy Dunne, those underlying defensive percentages might improve even more, and with someone as good of stopping shots as Charles in goal, this QPR team could be poised to take the next step up the league and into the top eight.