League One promotion chasers Sunderland and Ipswich Town are both interested in a move for QPR's on-loan Manchester City midfielder Matt Smith, a report from London Football News has claimed.

Smith joined QPR on a season-long loan from the Premier League champions back in the summer transfer window, but has so far struggled to make an impact in the Championship.

The 20-year-old has made just ten appearances in all competitions for Mark Warburton's side, with just four of those appearances coming as part of the starting lineup.

It is thought that City are keen for Smith to get as much first-team football as possible during his time out on loan, and as a result, are set to recall the midfielder and send him elsewhere for the second half of the campaign.

According to the latest reports, that is something that has caught the attention of both Sunderland and Ipswich, with both said to be weighing up a temporary move for the young midfielder as they look to boost their hopes of promotion this season.

Ipswich are currently third in the League One standings, two points adrift of the automatic promotion places and four points better off than sixth-placed Sunderland.

Smith has yet to make a senior appearance for Manchester City, and spent last season out on loan with Twente, making a total of 37 appearances and scoring two goals, helping them to win promotion from the Dutch second-tier as champions at the first time of asking.

The Verdict

This could be a decent signing for either Sunderland or Ipswich.

Despite the fact that he has struggled for opportunities at QPR, it still appears as though Smith has plenty of potential - as evidenced by his experience at Twente and recruitment by Manchester City - which could be useful to one of these sides in the second half the season.

As a result, it will be interesting to see just how far these two sides will go to secure his signature here, given winning this race could have a big say in the League One promotion race, both in terms of strengthening one side and denying another the chance to do just that.

Having found game time lacking at QPR, you feel Smith too will be keen on a move such as this, to give him the chance to kickstart his season and indeed career again.