Queens Park Rangers will compete in the Championship for the 12th year in a row, despite their season fizzling out after displaying signs of promise, as attention shifts to the summer transfer market.

Stephan, who is in his first year in English football, will have mixed views about his debut season with QPR.

At one point, the R’s appeared to be on track to finish in the top six, but erratic form has left them with little to play for with two games remaining, sitting 12 points below the top six and 14 above the drop zone.

Stephan will most likely remain in the Loftus Road dugout for another year, and the French manager will be eager to go to work on upgrading his squad ahead of the summer, having already highlighted what he believes his team requires to progress.

Julien Stephan discusses QPR’s transfer plan this summer following Steve Cook’s resignation.

QPR’s first item of transfer business has already been confirmed, as veteran defender Steve Cook is poised to depart the club at the end of the season when his contract expires, with his final game coming in the team’s 2-1 home defeat to Swansea City on Tuesday night.

The R’s have offered him the opportunity to stay in West London by joining the club as an Under-21 coach, but whether the former Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest defender will continue his playing career elsewhere or pursue a coaching career remains to be seen.

Stephan plans to add experience to his young team this summer, despite Cook’s departure. He stated, “It depends not on me and the players, but on what we want to do all collectively – the club – to take some decisions and see if we can have more experience next season.”While developing young players is beneficial, relying solely on them in this league is ineffective.You should have some experience. You need to mature. “You need players who understand how to play against various teams and styles of football.”It’s critical for the young players to achieve consistency, but they need some veteran players around them.”

With Cook leaving soon, QPR’s oldest outfield player is 31-year-old Isaac Hayden, who will be the only outfield player in the squad over the age of 30 next season.

The R’s have a particularly young attack, with Richard Kone (22), Karamoko Dembele (23), Justin Obikwu (21), Koki Saito (24), and Kwame Poku (24), as well as Harvey Vale (22), Jonathan Varane (24), and Ronnie Edwards (23), all of whom are under the age of 25 and are expected to play important roles in Stephan’s plans next season.

It’s not unexpected, given Cook’s departure, that QPR are trying to add additional experience to their ranks to support the younger heads.

The French manager will be well aware of what he is after entering the market, as experience appears to be the top objective for QPR this summer.

Julien Stephan must carefully balance youth and experience in his QPR squad.

Stephan knows how to develop young players; during his time at Stade Rennes, he helped to enhance Raphinha, Eduardo Camavinga, Jeremy Doku, and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele.

QPR fans will undoubtedly hope that his magic rubs off on some of their younger players in the coming years, but the Frenchman understands that experience around younger brains can be vital, especially in the Championship.

A 46-game season, with multiple more cup events thrown in, can be a long and exhausting campaign for the best of players, and the younger members of the squad will want instruction on how to manage such a demanding year.

With Cook leaving, Stephan will need new leaders in the dressing room as he plans his summer move to West London.