• Premier League

Henrique heading for QPR move

ESPNsoccernet staff
January 17, 2012
Mark Hughes is the key to Henrique's arrival © Getty Images
Enlarge

Brazil Under-20 striker Henrique Almeida Nascentes looks set to join QPR after expressing his admiration for the Premier League club's new manager Mark Hughes.

QPR intimated at the weekend that a deal to sign Henrique, who won the Golden Shoe at last summer's Under-20 World Cup, was "getting close" and now the Sao Paulo starlet has talked up a move to Loftus Road.

"I know a lot of clubs are interested in me. But when I spoke to Mark Hughes and QPR, they made me feel very excited about their plans," Henrique is quoted as saying in The Sun. "I want to go to a club with ambition and to play in London would be a fantastic opportunity.

"The manager is known everywhere. He played for great clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona. As a striker, I know I can learn so much from him. I've always wanted to play in Europe and, for me, England has the most exciting league in the world."

Henrique has reportedly agreed to join QPR on an initial 18-month loan deal with a £5 million option to make the move a permanent one at the end of the season.

The forward, who signed from Atletico Paranaense in 2007, is unsettled at Sao Paulo and has fallen out of favour with head coach Emerson Leao, who confirmed that the clubs were negotiating.

"The president [Juvenal Juvincio] is doing what he promised," he said. "I wanted to see people fighting for a place. He understood it was time for a change and these changes aren't over. Henrique could leave tomorrow or any time soon."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices