"QPR are going to have a better season" - Pundit criticises Chris Willock, Cardiff City transfer | OneFootball

FLW spoke to Carlton Palmer to discuss Chris Willock's move to Cardiff City after the winger left QPR

Carlton Palmer has tipped QPR to enjoy a more successful 2024/25 campaign than Cardiff City, calling into question Chris Willock's decision to move to the Welsh capital.

It was recently announced that the out-of-contract QPR winger would depart the club on a free transfer, and his destination is set to be Cardiff City, as reported first by Football Insider.

The move has now been confirmed and it appears to be a real coup for the Bluebirds, and many people are surprised to see Willock swap West London for Wales, particularly given the way QPR ended the season, with the side from Loftus Road tipped to do big things next season under Marti Cifuentes.

However, Willock has departed QPR after four years, and has become Cardiff City's first summer signing, much to the excitement of the Bluebirds' faithful.

Former England international and current EFL pundit Carlton Palmer believes that Cifuentes will be hugely frustrated that Willock has left, and has questioned his decision to depart for the Welsh capital, given the feel-good factor at QPR following the way they ended the season.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer said: "Not good news coming from QPR, it was believed that talks were going well between Chris Willock and the club, and it was hopeful that he would agree to sign a new contract, but it’s now come out that the 26-year-old has left QPR and will join Cardiff City on a free transfer.

"This is set to be Cardiff City’s first signing of the summer, and it is a coup for them.

“The 26-year-old was very instrumental last season for QPR in keeping them in the division, and I’m sure that the manager will be very frustrated that they weren’t able to keep him in the building. I’m sure Cifuentes will be annoyed. “I know his contract was up and at his age he’ll want a decent contract, but if you look at Cardiff and QPR, you’d have thought that QPR are going to have a better season under Cifuentes than what Cardiff will do, so this is very frustrating for the manager and the player, given the impact that Willock had last season in keeping them up. "Cardiff have done really well, beating off a number of clubs to draft in the former Arsenal youth player. "Aș I say, disappointing and frustrating for QPR, but this is the problem when you have a talented player getting into a situation where he’s out of contract. “I understand why he ended up out of contract, as they didn’t know whether they were going to be in the Championship or in League One.

“If they were in League One, they’d have to let the player go due to his salary demands, so therefore it’s unfortunate for QPR, but they can use his salary to bring in a replacement."

Signing Chris Willock is a statement of intent from Cardiff City

It is a signing that has seemingly came from nowhere, but it looks like a fantastic piece of business from the Bluebirds to bring Willock to the club.

The winger will offer something completely different to the rest of Cardiff's squad, and his pace and ability to take a man on was something that the Bluebirds missed last season, so Erol Bulut is certainly addressing the problems he's got within his squad.

The 26-year-old is vastly experienced at Championship level, having made 154 appearances in the second tier, with 22 goals and 22 assists to his name.

The former Arsenal man made 39 appearances for the Hoops last season, registering four goals and four assists, and he'll be looking to add to improve on that tally next season in the Welsh capital.