According to reports, 23-year-old winger Koki Saito is expected to re-join Queens Park Rangers from Belgian Pro League side Lommel SK on a permanent deal, after impressing during his loan spell at QPR last campaign.
The Japan U23 international has been out on loan from the City Group side since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, spending two years at Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam before arriving at Loftus Road ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Saito quickly became a favourite of Rs supporters owing to his work rate and dribbling capabilities. The winger provided six goal contributions in twenty-five starts in the Championship last season, making a further fourteen appearances from the bench.
A permanent transfer initially seemed unlikely, with rumours speculating a significant cost to bring him back to West London. However, it seems that QPR have pulled the trigger on the move as Saito heads into the last year of his contract with his parent club.
Is Koki Saito A Good Signing For QPR?
QPR have needed to bring in a reinforcement in the left-wing department since new head coach Julien Stéphan’s decision to employ star man Ilias Chair as a number 10 during pre-season.
The West London club have young talents Rayan Kolli, Daniel Bennie, and Emmerson Sutton capable of playing in this position, but Saito’s senior experience and quality mean some of the others would perhaps be best served by getting minutes out on loan in the lower leagues.
Saito provides a completely different profile for Stéphan’s side, as well as competition for Dembele, Poku, and Vale, all of whom spent much of last season sidelined with injury. Koki Saito ranks among the top 30% for dribbles per-90 and wins an impressive 2.23 fouls per-90.
The winger also finds himself in the top 7% for accurate crosses, but it his defensive capabilities that make him a stand-out signing. Koki Saito stands among the top 11.8% of wingers for duels won, coming out on top 49.1% of the time, as well as an astounding 5.02 recoveries won per-90.
Money Well Spent?
The signing is likely to cost several million pounds and would take a significant portion of QPR’s transfer budget. The club have spent very little so far this window, and have plenty of headroom within the current ‘Profit and Sustainability’ rules to make further acquisitions in the transfer window. The sale of Charlie Kelman to Charlton Athletic has also helped raise funds for Rangers.
However, there are certainly areas of the squad requiring more urgent attention. Michael Frey has struggled with injury since arriving in January 2024, and Zan Celar seems likely to follow Kelman out of the door at Loftus Road. Rumarn Burrell has been signed from Burton Albion following an impressive eleven goals in 26 starts in League One last season, but cannot be expected to lead the line for an ambitious Rs side.
Schalke forward Pape Meïssa Ba also seems set to join the club for a small fee, although his goalscoring record is questionable and he is also unlikely to be QPR’s main man.
It is therefore clear that QPR need to sign another striker in order to progress up the table and one must wonder if the money needed to bring in Saito would be better spent on a centre-forward, particularly considering the previously mentioned young players at their disposal in the left-wing area.
Rangers have been tenuously linked with Wycombe Wanderers sensation Richard Kone, who is expected to cost a hefty fee himself. Therefore, the signing of Koki Saito could very well mean compromising themselves on any future deal for Kone or another striker.
Written by Amar Topan (@W12Amar on X)
