QPR manager Mark Warburton says that he left Bright Osayi-Samuel out of his side's clash with Barnsley on Tuesday night, because he did not believe the winger was in the right frame of mind for the game.

Reports had emerged earlier on Tuesday claiming that Osayi-Samuel had been dropped from the side for the trip to Oakwell, after refusing to sign a new contract with the club.

Osayi-Samuel was indeed absent from the matchday squad for that game, and Warburton now appears to have confirmed that that was in some part down to the ongoing situation with the player's contract.

Speaking about Osayi-Samuel's absence after his side's 3-0 defeat in Yorkshire, Warburton told QPR's official website: "Contract talks with Bright have been ongoing for a while now.

"He’s a great lad, everyone knows what I think of him, but his head has to be in the right place for a game of football and I just felt that tonight it wasn’t right for Bright and for the team as well."

Osayi-Samuel's contract with QPR is set to expire at the end of this season, with Crystal Palace and Celtic are among the clubs who were linked with the winger during the summer transfer window.

A move to Club Brugge also failed to materialise for the 22-year-old, despite an £4.75million fee reportedly being agreed with the Belgian champions.

The Verdict

This has to be a concern for those associated with QPR.

Judging by Warburton's comments here, Osayi-Samuel's absence was based solely on his contract situation, which suggests that talks are not going, since he would surely be included if things were positive behind the scenes.

As a result, it seems increasingly likely that the winger will be moving on sooner rather than later, without putting pen to paper on a new deal with QPR, which will be a big concern for the club.

Not only would it mean they lose a key asset, but his contract situation means they could receive very little in terms of a fee for him - or nothing if he signs a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January - making it harder for them to replace him from a financial perspective as well.