£1m Fee, Late Release: Surprise Queens Park Rangers Transfer Details Emerge

Lincoln City sporting director Jez George has outlined the process that saw Queens Park Rangers sign Justin Obiwu from Coventry, on loan with the Imps, and then saw Alfie Lloyd recalled by the Hoops to be loaned back to City.

Obikwu joined the Imps on loan from Coventry City at the beginning of the season and by January, had registered three goals. He was seemingly staying for the season, but ahead of the Imps’ 2-2 draw with Luton Town, he was recalled and sold to QPR for an undisclosed fee.

That meant a mad scramble for the Imps to replace, and a deal was done quickly to bring in Alfie Lloyd. He was on loan at Leyton Orient, but was recalled and loaned to the Imps for the remainder of the season, where he picked up a League One winners’ medal.

Speaking to The Stacey West Podcast, George explained the process behind the transfer, and in doing so, revealed a couple of juicy titbits, including Obikwu’s fee.

“We were told by Coventry that Justin Obiwu would stay in that window,” he said. “They then got a million-pound offer from QPR, and he then goes back to Coventry because they’re going to sell him.”

While the Imps were not the benefactors of the deal, it does mean they had two players in a single season who cost £1m or more, with Jovon Makama leaving them prior to the opening day fixture for Norwich City. Obiwku may have been a loan signing, but his form at the LNER Stadium convinced QPR that a deal was worth doing.

The twist came when the Imps tried to identify a replacement: ironically, they found a QPR player who was out on loan, not expecting to be recalled: Alfie Lloyd.

“Joe (Hutchinson) rang me at five o’clock on his way home, said I might have got one. You need to go and watch Leyton Orient versus Cardiff. So I sat at home watching 77 minutes of Alfie running around, banging a few Welshmen around in that game. And they beat them 2-1.”

“I then listened to about three or four interviews that Alfie gave for Leyton Orient TV, and his character just absolutely shone through. The reason it was a four-hour decision was the recall window closed for QPR with Leyton Orient at 10 p.m. that night.

“So we literally got on the phone at 9 o’clock, made the decision to do it, and spoke to QPR. Fair play, without even the finances quite being agreed, QPR agreed to recall him.”

Lloyd appeared 19 times for the Imps, but only started one game. He scored late to help them beat Stockport County in a game that took them on to 80 points. At the time, it wasn’t apparent, but that was enough to seal automatic promotion to the Championship.

Lloyd has now returned to Loftus Road, while Obiwu is yet to kick a ball in anger for Julien Stephan’s side, and in another twist of fate, they’ll likely be in the opposite dugout when the two teams meet in second-tier action next season, the first league meeting between the sides since the 1961/62 season.