Charlie Austin will take some convincing to leave QPR for a Premier League club battling against relegation in January.
The striker is already being targeted by a number of teams in the top flight, including Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Newcastle and West Brom.
But four of those clubs make up the bottom four, while West Brom are only six points above the drop zone.
Standard Sport understands Austin doesn’t want to run the risk of joining a side in the new year that could get relegated four months later.
Austin’s contract runs out at the end of the season and so will be able to leave on a free transfer if Rangers don’t cash in during the next transfer window.
That means the 26-year-old is in no rush to pick his next destination and is believed to harbour ambitions of joining a club in the top half of the table that can compete for honours and a European place.
Earlier this month, Austin gave a strong indication he will see out the rest of the campaign at QPR. He told TalkSPORT: “If something comes up in January that’s right for myself and my family then I’ll assess the situation with my agent then.
“However, if not, I will be happy to stay with QPR and play in any position they ask me to play. I’ve said before, I’m loyal to QPR and I’m going to stay until the end of the season and aim to get them promoted, because that’s what I started out to do.”
QPR haven’t ruled out trying to sell Austin in the next window even if they have a chance of winning promotion from the Championship this term. He is now valued at around £8million, which means his value has almost halved since they demanded £15m for his signature last summer.
But the club are having to consider offloading some of the first-team squad to ease their financial situation.
Austin has scored 45 goals in just 85 appearances since joining from Burnley for £4m in 2013, 18 of which came in the Premier League last term.
