• Mali midfielder set to snub Lyon and head to Loftus Road
• Mark Hughes also interested in Wigan's Victor Moses
Queens Park Rangers will turn their attention to strengthening their midfield and forward ranks, starting with a loan move for Nancy's Samba Diakité, after completing Nedum Onouha's £2.75m purchase from Manchester City.
Diakité, a Mali international whose contract runs to the summer of 2014, is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations and had been expected to switch to Lyon before the closure of the midwinter window next week. However, the defensive midfielder has apparently now indicated a preference to move to the Premier League and is set to join QPR on an initial six-month loan, pending a medical, with the club having an option to make the transfer permanent for around £3.5m in the summer.
Interest is also understood to have been lodged with Wigan Athletic for the England Under-21 forward Victor Moses as QPR attempt to bolster their ranks in an effort to stave off the threat of relegation.
Taye Taiwo has already moved to Loftus Road on loan from Milan, and has now been joined in west London by Onuoha. The 25-year-old completed his transfer on Thursday on a four-and-a-half-year deal having played only 14 minutes of Premier League football for City this term. "Nedum is a player I know very well," said the QPR manager, Mark Hughes. "He did very well for me at Manchester City and played a number of games, probably more than under any other manager.
"Nedum is very versatile. He can play centre-back or right-back, and has good pace. He is a very good addition to the squad. It's important that we are able to attract good players here. Nedum had other options but his experience with myself and the other guys here was a big factor in why he has come to us."
"This was the right time for me to join a club like QPR," Onuoha added. "The manager obviously played a massive factor in my decision to come here. I've worked with him before and he always wants players around him who are open and honest. He wouldn't have come here if he didn't believe that there was a squad of players here that can achieve the goals he has. The ambition of the owners was really appealing. This is my club now and I'll give everything to help us succeed."