QUEENS PARK RANGERS manager Mark Warburton has explained why Ryan Manning was allowed to leave for a rival Championship club on deadline day.
Swansea City announced the signing of the 24-year-old Galway native on a three-year contract last Friday evening.
Manning departed QPR despite being a key player for the club last season, when he played 44 times in all competitions.
However, having rejected the contract extension he was offered, the former Republic of Ireland U21 international had been frozen out by the London outfit so far this season.
Amid interest from elsewhere, QPR were reluctant to find themselves in a position where Manning could leave for free next summer.
They have subsequently earned a reported fee of £250,000 for a player they bought from Galway United for £15,000 in January 2015.
“He is a very talented boy and we absolutely wish him all the best with his future career with Swansea,” Warburton told West London sport.
“He had a very good season for us last year. But from our point of view, if you make an offer and someone wants to sign, then great. But if they don’t, then we just have to move on. QPR can’t be a club that sees players walk out of the door at the end of their contract for nothing.
“What we have to do is be strong about it and have some short-term pain for long-term gain. We have to show where we stand. It’s not about a staff member, it’s about a club and we have to be very strong about that.
“I wish Ryan all the best but I only want players to be here who want to contribute to the team performance.”
Despite initially rising to prominence as a creative midfielder, Manning excelled while playing at left-back during the 2019-20 campaign, during which he scored five goals and assisted seven more.
Although he remains uncapped at senior level, he was called into the Ireland squad for last week’s defeat to Finland in Helsinki in the Uefa Nations League.
Manning will be in contention to make his debut for his new club tomorrow night in the Championship, when Swansea travel to Coventry City.
The Welsh club remain in fourth place in spite of Saturday’s defeat to Huddersfield Town, while QPR – who drew 0-0 at Bournemouth – are in 14th.
