Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has suggested that Ethan Laird could be sent out on loan again this season and QPR should be one of the Championship clubs lining up to capitalise. 

Laird has been sent out on loan three times by United in the last 18 months or so, joining MK Dons in January 2021, Swansea City last summer, and then Bournemouth in the most recent winter window.

The 20-year-old has impressed during all three spells, though only as a bit-part player with the Cherries, and earned himself a chance to impress the new manager at Old Trafford this summer.

Ten Hag has made it clear (via MEN) that Laird could still be sent out on loan before the window closes in September and the R's would be wise to offer themselves up as a potential destination.

They have already signed a left-back this summer in Kenneth Paal, who joined on a free transfer after leaving PEC Zwolle, but their pursuit of Millwall's Danny McNamara has been unsuccessful so far and they need a new right-back.

Judging on the way the teams he's coached in the past have played, Beale will ask his full-backs to push high up the pitch and create overloads in the final third meaning that they're going to be important players both in and out of possession.

As such, he'll need quality reinforcements in those positions and you'd question whether Osman Kakay can offer enough going forward given what we've seen of him during his time at the club – two goals and two assists in 65 appearances.

Laird is a proven quantity at Championship level and is certainly not lacking in attacking ambition, having played as a wing-back at both MK Dons and Swansea, and provided an eye-catching eight assists across 46 appearances for those two clubs.

For Beale to success at Loftus Road, he will need the board to back him by strengthening in key areas. Signing Laird on loan from United to bolster his options at right-back would certainly be doing that.

It seems as though the decision over the player's future is likely to be made later on in the summer, and could even hinge on whether a new arrival comes in at right-back, so the R's may have to be patient.

But for someone of Laird's quality, it would be worth it.