QPR closing in on appointment of ex-Norwich City boss as Marti Cifuentes replacement | OneFootball

The R's are reportedly getting close to sorting out their managerial situation.

Former Norwich City boss Johannes Hoff Thorup is reportedly close to becoming Queens Park Rangers' new head coach.

The situation at Loftus Road has been made a bit murky by the way things ended for Marti Cifuentes. While he is still technically a part of the club, he has been placed on gardening leave after he shopped himself around to other clubs in the hopes of making a move elsewhere.

The primary focus has, therefore, been on the Spaniard, where he may end up and what sort of compensation, if any, QPR will be able to get if he does agree to join another team before his contract ends. He signed a new deal at the start of the season but the length of it wasn't officially revealed, just that it was "long-term."

QPR lining up Johannes Hoff Thorup move

Meanwhile, the R's have reportedly been working on finding the man to follow up Cifuentes' successes, and it looks like it could be Thorup.

Danish outlet Tipsbladet have reported that he is close to sealing a move to west London after having multiple rounds of talks with the club, including face-to-face ones. The Telegraph had previously reported that discussions had been held between the two parties.

Like his Spanish counterpart, the 36-year-old was appointed by Norwich with a long-term vision in mind but left Carrow Road shortly before the end of the campaign after a poor run of form to end the season.

He revealed after he parted ways with the Canaries to Tipsbladet that he had already turned down approaches from other clubs. "I will say that I have spoken a lot on the phone in the last few days, but out of respect for the colleagues who are fighting extremely important battles right now, I will not open up too much about it.

"But I could probably start here in a couple of weeks if I wanted to."

There are ups and downs to a Johannes Hoff Thorup move for QPR

Thorup built up a strong reputation for himself before he moved to Norfolk. He guided FC Nordsjælland to second in his first half-season with the club and then fourth in his only full season.

Things may not have panned out the way either party would have wanted to, but there were clear signs in Thorup's early days, with a Norwich squad that had a lot of talent ripped away from it soon after the Dane arrived, that there are some very encouraging qualities to him.

Like Cifuentes, his teams like to dominate the ball. The Spaniard didn't get to do that all too often in his Loftus Road days, but the sides he managed before moving to London clearly had this trait.

The way things ended for Thorup at Norwich will be a bit of a concern to QPR supporters if he is officially brought in. There is, however, plenty of upside to the 36-year-old that they can get excited about.