"Watch out for him" - QPR youngster tipped to make first-team breakthrough | OneFootball

The teenager made a name for himself after impressing in the R's pre-season campaign

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

There is nothing finer to see for a football fan than a player who has come up through the ranks at the academy becoming a mainstay in the first-team.

Every club will have a homegrown hero that is still admired on the terraces, although in the current day that phenomenon has become a lesser occurrence, with the focus on bringing in top talent from around the globe.

Queens Park Rangers can boast a wealth of talent that has been nurtured at Loftus Road, with England international Eberechi Eze starting out for the West London side, while the likes of Josh Bowler and Ilias Chair also have their roots in White City.

But who is the next player to come off the conveyor belt of talent for the Hoops? We spoke to Football League World’s Rangers fan pundit Louis Moir to get a fan’s view on the situation.

Queens Park Rangers youngster Harry Murphy tipped for bright future

Rangers have blooded very few academy products in the season so far, with Chair the poster boy for those trying to break through at Loftus Road, with the Moroccan racking up over 200 appearances for the blue and whites to date.

Forward Rayan Kolli has been afforded minutes this season, and was even given a first Championship start of his career in the opening day 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion.

That emphasises how tough the pathway from youth team to first-team has become in recent years, with Moir pointing the finger to a change of approach in the youth team for the reason behind it.

Despite that, the R’s fan has been impressed by the sight of a promising playmaker within the youth ranks, who he has tipped to make it after impressing in pre-season.

When asked which young player could be the next to break through, Moir said: “I think looking at our youth setup at the moment, there are not many you would say are right there knocking on the door at the moment, in terms of pushing for first-team football.

“The academy is in a bit of a transition period at the moment; we got rid of a lot of young lads that we released at the end of last season, and brought in a few exciting prospects.

“Things are being done differently now with the academy and the youth setup at the club, but I think there is one youngster who has caught the eye.

“Harry Murphy is a young number ten, attacking midfielder, he went away on the pre-season tour with the first-team before the start of the season and did well.”

Harry Murphy showcases ability in Queens Park Rangers pre-season

Rangers boss Marti Cifuentes [pictured] has already proven he rates Murphy’s talents highly, by including the young star in the club’s pre-season tour to Spain.

The teenager even grabbed himself a brace against local outfit FC L’Escala during the training camp, which will have given his boss even more reason to consider the playmaker for first-team football in the future.

As well as that, he consistently seems to be finding the back of the net for the R’s development squad, with a spot-kick against Colchester United last week the latest time he got on the score sheet.

With the Hoops in need of some extra creativity in the final third, it seems only a matter of time before the young star is considered a first-team option, and Moir is excited by the prospect.

Louis added: “He got a couple of goals in one game - although it wasn’t against the best of opposition - but for his confidence that is good going to do that in a first-team scenario.”

“He seems to be one where when you see the development squad play, he has always been involved if they have won and won well.

“He seems quite a talented young player on the ball, he is a number ten so can make things happen, and looks like he has got a good free-kick on him.

“The manager has obviously seen something in him to give him a chance, otherwise he wouldn’t be close to having that opportunity, so looking at them I think Harry Murphy might the one that in the next year or so will be popping up on the bench in cup games.