On Friday, Queens Park Rangers confirmed the speculation linking us with moves for both goalkeeper Liam Kelly and left back Lee Wallace.
23-year-old Kelly officially became manager Mark Warburton’s first capture since he arrived at the club, with 31-year-old Wallace quickly following as his second.
Speaking to the Official Site as he welcomed both to first team contention ahead of the coming 2019/20 Championship campaign, Warburton was quick to praise Joe Lumley for his efforts last season.
“Joe Lumley did exceptionally well for QPR last season so Liam’s job is to come here and compete. That’s what you want, you want competition all over the park. You have 24 or 25 competitive animals who are all keen to do well. You have to have that respectful competition for places. Liam will want that No.1 shirt, and Joe’s job will be to keep it and show what he can do.”
With both players now waiting for their international clearances, I guess the deals truly become official and get rubber stamped at some point next week as there certainly won’t be any hiccups when it comes to the paperwork.
Speaking more specifically about Kelly, he added.
“Liam is outstanding with his feet, he has great distribution and he is a very good shot stopper.”
On Wallace.
“Lee is a top-class professional and a lot of clubs were after him so I’m delighted to get him on board. He is a natural leader and did a fantastic job for me while I was up there. He governed the dressing room and set the standards in the right way. He loves his football and is very much into the coaching and tactical side of the game. He has a point to prove. The last 18 months at Glasgow Rangers were difficult for him. I have no doubt he will come down here absolutely determined to prove many people wrong.”
Reaction on social media has been very welcoming and plenty of Rangers fans popped over to give us their thoughts on the duo given their previous associations at Ibrox, but I imagine Livingston fans, in particular, are hugely disappointed to lose Kelly after the season he appears to have had.
