Mark Hughes gets close to signing Brazil's golden Henrique for QPR

Posted Sunday, January 15, 2012 by theguardian.com

Mark Hughes gets close to signing Brazil's golden Henrique for QPR
QPR's new manager Mark Hughes is trying to bring in new players before the transfer window closes.

Mark Hughes wants Henrique, a 20-year-old Brazilian striker who won the golden shoe at last summer's under-20 World Cup, to spearhead his rebuilding of Queens Park Rangers, with a deal to sign him from São Paulo "getting close", according to an executive at the west London club.

Alongside the transfer of the Chelsea defender Alex, which is due for completion in the next few days for around £3.5m, Hughes wants the left-back Wayne Bridge from Manchester City and is searching for a goalkeeper to replace Paddy Kenny. The Welshman is trying to perform major surgery on his team conscious there are two weeks of the transfer window remaining. He begins the challenge of rescuing QPR, who are 18th, from relegation on Sunday at Newcastle.

If Henrique joins, it is thought this will initially be on loan for the remainder of the season for a fee of around £400,000, with QPR having the option to make the move permanent for £5m in the summer. The forward is unsettled at São Paulo and has fallen out of favour with Emerson Leão, the São Paulo head coach, 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."

Signed from Atlético Paranaense in 2007, Henrique has been in and out of the São Paulo side during the past two seasons and struggled to establish himself, going on loan to David Luiz's former club, Vitória, in 2010. Last August, he scored five goals at the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia, which won him the golden shoe and also the golden ball as the tournament's best player after he fired Brazil to the championship.The 5ft 9in striker has scored seven goals in 11 matches for Brazil under-20s and is considered pacy but not lightning fast, and if signed Hughes may decide to play him off a front man or wide in a 4-3‑3.

Of other potential transfer targets, a deal to bring Steven Pienaar from Tottenham is now unlikely as Daniel Levy, the chairman, and Harry Redknapp are reluctant to sell with Spurs challenging for the Premier League.

Alex's imminent arrival should also mean that Spurs' Sébastien Bassong will no longer interest Hughes, while doubts over the first-choice left-back, Armand Traoré, who is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, have moved Hughes to try to land Bridge, with whom he worked while manager of City. Hopes are receding of Hughes landing Bobby Zamora.