Exclusive: David Prutton backs key QPR player to secure big summer transfer - it's "totally deserved" | OneFootball

The R's are having a much messier end to the season than they'd have hoped for.

Jimmy Dunne leaving Queens Park Rangers as a free agent this summer, as he is currently on course to do, would be a real shame for the club, according to David Prutton.

A lot of changes are set to head the way of Loftus Road in the coming weeks and months. Their manager, Marti Cifuentes, has been placed on gardening leave by the club as he looks for opportunities elsewhere - opportunities that will not be with West Bromwich Albion.

A good number of their current first-team players are also currently set to leave the club in the summer. Of the current 30-man squad, a dozen, including loanees, are set to play their final game for QPR on Saturday against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

None of those losses may be as negatively influential as that of Dunne. The 27-year-old Irish defender has been one of Cifuentes' rocks at the back this season, starting all but one of the R's league fixtures.

He's also played a hugely important role at the other end of the pitch, contributing seven direct goal contributions in the Championship this season.

David Prutton: Jimmy Dunne loss would be a big blow for QPR

Dunne has spent four seasons with the club but, as the summer gets closer, and the uncertainty around the manager continues, it seems increasingly likely that Dunne will leave Loftus Road in the coming weeks.

This will be a tough pill to swallow for QPR, according to Prutton, who spoke exclusively to Football League World about the impact he feels the Irishman's departure may have on the west London side.

"Jimmy Dunne to leave QPR would be a huge blow, I'd say," Prutton told FLW.

"He'd be coveted across the Championship, most definitely. A player that has been reliable - reliable in performances and reliable in the sense of being able to get the games out as well.

"He's a real leader when it comes to the teams and the players that we're talking about in the Championship.

"Letting him go on a free would be disappointing from a financial point of view but the ball is in the players court there, so that ability to be able to maximise what he wants from his next move, it's totally up to Jimmy, and I'd say it's totally deserved."

Jimmy Dunne could earn big career move - QPR can't have hard feelings over it

Dunne was linked with a move to Sheffield United in the winter window but it never materialised. You'd think that teams like Chris Wilder's, but especially his if the Blades fail to get promoted, will be all over the QPR defender when his contract expires.

He is currently at his theoretical peak and is certainly playing like it. The chances are that, after this next contract, he may only have one or two more significant deals to broker before age starts to catch up with him.

Choosing to stay at Loftus Road, who have no real prospect of challenging for promotion next season, may limit what Dunne can achieve in what is a very short career as a footballer.

You've got to look to maximise every opportunity presented to you in this game, and there's likely to be a big one right around the corner that might not involve the R's - but they cannot harbour hard feelings with the Irish defender for making a move that will be best for his and his families future.