The summer transfer saga surrounding winger Kwame Poku has taken a dramatic turn, with the player enduring a disastrous start to his Queens Park Rangers career after opting to ignore a move to Championship rivals Birmingham City.
The Transfer That Got Away
Birmingham City appeared to be in the driving seat to sign the highly-rated Peterborough United attacker after the conclusion of the League One season. Blues had tracked Poku for numerous transfer windows and had carefully built a relationship with Peterborough's key decision-makers, Darragh MacAnthony and Barry Fry.
However, the deal began to unravel as Poku and his agent deliberated over the move. By mid-June, the delay proved too long for Birmingham's hierarchy, who informed BirminghamLive that they had officially moved on from their pursuit of the player. This left a crucial gap in new manager Chris Davies's tactical set-up, a void that wouldn't be filled until the deadline day arrival of Patrick Roberts.
London Calling and an Immediate Setback
Just two weeks after Birmingham's withdrawal, Poku put pen to paper on a contract with QPR. The lure of London and the club's own 'project' ultimately swayed the player, who stated at the time, "I feel like the project they're building here excites me and I want to be part of taking QPR to that next level."
The reality has been starkly different. Poku has managed to feature in only two games for the Hoops this entire season. His campaign was derailed almost immediately, suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day which required a lengthy three-month recuperation period.
A Frustrating Road to Recovery
The winger's brief return to action was equally cursed. He made a cameo appearance from the bench during QPR's 4-1 defeat to Ipswich Town at the beginning of November, only to suffer a fresh injury in training the following week. This new setback ruled him out of crucial fixtures against Southampton and Sheffield United.
QPR manager Julien Stephan has indicated that he expects the 24-year-old to resume training during the international break. Poku will now be desperate to finally make his mark and justify his decision, but he faces a significant challenge to make up for lost time at a club that has finished 15th, 18th, and 20th in its last three Championship seasons and currently sits in 16th place.
Back in the corridors of power at St Andrew’s, there will undoubtedly be a keen interest in monitoring Poku's progress. Birmingham City's decision to walk away from the deal in mid-June now looks increasingly prescient, raising the question: were Blues right to withdraw their interest when they did?