Exclusive: QPR sent clear Charlie Kelman demand amid Leyton Orient exploits | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has given his verdict on whether QPR should keep hold of Charlie Kelman next season after his loan spell at Leyton Orient.

Pundit Lee Hendrie believes Queens Park Rangers must keep hold of striker Charlie Kelman when he returns from his loan spell at Leyton Orient this summer.

Kelman joined QPR from Southend United in October 2020, but he has made just 26 appearances for the West London outfit in almost five years, and he has spent much of his time at Loftus Road out on loan with the likes of Gillingham, Wigan Athletic and Orient.

The 23-year-old's first stint at Brisbane Road came in the 2022-23 season, when he scored seven goals in 47 games to help the O's to the League Two title, but while he is a popular figure at the club, few could have predicted just how well he would perform after his return in the summer.

After a stunning season, Kelman finished as the top scorer in League One ahead of the likes of Jay Stansfield, Richard Kone and Matt Godden, and his fine form has continued in the play-offs, with the striker netting twice in the semi-final first leg against Stockport County last weekend.

Following a penalty shootout victory over the Hatters in the second leg on Wednesday night, Kelman and his team-mates are now preparing to take on Charlton Athletic in the final at Wembley next Sunday, but question marks remain over where his long-term future lies beyond the summer.

Lee Hendrie issues verdict on Charlie Kelman's QPR future

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Hendrie insisted that QPR should retain Kelman this summer, and he believes that, after his successful spell at Leyton Orient, the R's should build their team around him next season.

"With Charlie Kelman, I've watched the two play-off legs and what he's done this season has been quite remarkable," Hendrie said.

"He's played in a side that would probably be very similar to the way QPR would set up, and I think that him going out on loan will give him confidence.

"They have to bring him back and keep hold of him, there's no doubt about that.

"I just think that what he's produced this season for Leyton Orient has been phenomenal.

"I do think it's key that they keep him and they try to work round him because he's still relatively young and he's shown what he's capable of doing if you play to his strengths, which is what Leyton Orient have done this season.

"I'd certainly be looking to get him back and build round him because I think that's an area they have really struggled with, having an out-and-out centre-forward that can play week in week out, but he can do that."

With the managerial position currently up in the air at QPR after Marti Cifuentes was placed on gardening leave, it is difficult to know how they will line up next season, but whoever is in charge at Loftus Road will surely make Kelman central to their plans.

Prior to this season, Kelman had never scored more than seven goals in a single campaign, but his transformation during his second spell at Leyton Orient has been incredible, and as Hendrie says, he will return to his parent club in the summer full of confidence and belief.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Kelman can deliver at Championship level, but he certainly deserves an opportunity to show what he can do, and the fact that the R's tied him down to a new contract before he joined Wigan on loan last January suggests that they see him as a big part of the future.