This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin has confirmed that he will leave the club. 

The 32-year-old striker re-joined the R's permanently last summer but boss Mark Warburton recently confirmed that his contract was due to expire at the end of the Championship season despite being announced as a two-year deal when he joined. This is due to him having not met the appearance criteria to trigger the second year.

Speaking on social media on Thursday evening, Austin revealed his time at the club had come to an end.

 

With the above in mind, we asked some of our writers here at FLW for their thoughts on QPR letting Charlie Austin leave the club this summer.

Ned Holmes

Charlie Austin may be a modern QPR legend but this is still the right move for me.

They need to freshen up their forward line and the departure of Austin, along with Andre Gray returning to Watford at the end of his loan deal, will allow them space to do that.

He's been a useful squad option in the 18 months since his return but we've seen his limitations when he's started games and I'm not sure he's done enough to earn a new deal.

Is the incoming manager really going to want a 32-year-old striker on a one-year deal? I'm not too sure.

The R's will be able to replace his offering fairly easily in the summer, in my opinion, so that's not a concern either.

They should've made the decision earlier to allow him to have a proper Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium goodbye but it's still the right time.

 

 

Charlie Gregory

Charlie Austin has contributed effectively this season for QPR, so it is a surprise to see him leave this summer.

He’s stepped in when needed and has bagged five goals and one assist in 34 league outings and whilst it is not his best return, he has still proven he can bag goals if needed. He might not be a first-teamer anymore but as a rotational option, he has proven to be good enough.

Considering his age, you can see why they might let him go though. There will be other younger players they may sign or bring through that could take his minutes instead. If he is also commanding a sizeable wage, there is no point keeping him as a bench option.

Austin could still be a first-teamer elsewhere - and therefore it makes sense for him to depart then.

Carla Devine

There is no doubt that Charlie Austin has been a key part of the QPR team in both of his spells with the club and this goodbye will be an emotional one.

However, Austin is now 32-years-old and this year the striker got just five goals and an assist in 34 appearances which isn’t as good of a return as he would have hoped for.

With QPR looking to progress up the table towards the play-offs next season, they will be wanting strikers with more goals in them to assist their efforts.

Austin could have done a job from the bench as a back up or impact substitution. However, the player himself would probably want more regular football lower down.

Therefore, although the decision is an emotional one for all parties, it feels like the right one from a football perspective.