26 Jul Socceroos defender in talks with Championship club QPR

England Championship side Queens Park Rangers have opened talks to sign Socceroos defender Trent Sainsbury from Chinese club Jiangsu Suning.

Since joining the Chinese club in 2016, Sainsbury has been sent out on loan to Italy’s Inter Milan and Switzerland’s Grasshopper Zurich the past two seasons, but after a strong showing for the Socceroos at the World Cup, the central defender has again attracted interest from Europe.

QPR are keen to sign Sainsbury after losing two central defenders and Sainsbury’s representatives were in London last week to discuss a potential deal.

A fee of $1.5 million has been discussed, but QPR are keen for a lower price as Sainsbury has just five months remaining on his contract at Jiangsu.

Sainsbury’s Socceroos teammate, Massimo Luongo, also plays for west London outfit QPR who struggled in England’s second tier last season.

Talks between QPR and Sainsbury remain ongoing.