QPR baulk at Davies wage demands

Andrew Davies's £750,000 proposed move to Queens Park Rangers has been scuppered because of his excessive wage demands.

The club had hoped to sign the defender in time for tomorrow's home game against Reading after agreeing a fee with Middlesbrough.

But Davies, 20, did not travel down to London yesterday to discuss terms after it emerged he wanted a deal that would earn him around £6,000 a week, which is around three times more than what he is earning at Boro and around double that of any other QPR player.

Rangers remain keen to sign Davies, who impressed manager Ian Holloway during a loan spell, but will not be held to ransom over his salary demands.

A club spokesperson said: "The situation is not looking positive.

"There is an excellent offer on the table but it clearly does not meet his expectations."

Holloway has all but given up hope of signing the player. "We're 5-0 down with a minute to go on this one," he said. "We spoke about how much it would be [in wages] and our budget and he didn't even want to come down."

Rangers were only able to afford the fee for Davies after four shareholders stumped up the money.

Rangers will face former striker Les Ferdinand in tomorrow's game. If Matthew Rose (ankle) is unavailable, Georges Santos is likely to drop back in to central defence to partner Dan Shittu.