QPR are set to name former Rennes and Strasbourg boss Julien Stephan as the club’s new head coach.

Rangers placed Marti Cifuentes on gardening leave in April after Sunsport revealed he was close to quitting the club following a breakdown in his relationship with 27-year-old chief executive Christian Nourry.

AFP or licensors

Julien Stephan is set to be unveiled as the new boss of QPR[/caption]

AFP

The former Rennes boss has worked with talent such as Eduardo Camavinga (middle)[/caption]

The decision to stand down Cifuentes came after the Spaniard’s representatives made contact with West Brom following Tony Mowbray’s sacking last month.

West Brom have since appointed Ryan Mason as their new boss.

But with no chance of a thawing in relations between Nourry and Cifuentes, Rangers turned their attention to Stephan.

The 44-year-old has been keen to work in England since being sacked by Ligue 1 side Rennes last November.

Stephan guided Rennes to the knock-out stages of the Europa League for the first time in 2018 where they lost 4-3 to Arsenal.

A year later he led the club to victory over PSG in the French Cup final.

The Frenchman also spent two seasons with Strasbourg before returning to his former club in 2023.

Stephan brought a host of big-name stars through the ranks at Rennes.

He was responsible for launching the career of Real Madrid star Eduardo Camavinga, and worked with Barcelona playmaker Raphinha.

And he also worked with Serhu Guirassy, Jeremy Doku and Ismaila Sarr.

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Stephan has agreed terms on a two-year deal with the Championship club.

QPR have been out of the top flight since relegation from the Premier League in 2015.

They are preparing for their 11th-straight season in the Championship, with just two top-half finishes in that time.

Last season they finished 15th, six points clear of the relegation zone but ten behind the playoff places in what was ultimately a disappointing campaign.

Cifuente was placed on gardening leave in April, with the club recently releasing a host of players.

RARE footage of Tyson Fury scoring a brutal knockout in the amateurs has re-emerged.

Fury had a 31-4 in the unpaid rank but he turned professional in 2008 after being overlooked for the Olympics in favour of David Price.

YouTube / Eamon Mcauley

Footage of Tyson Fury scoring a brutal knockout in the amateurs has re-emerged[/caption]

YouTube / Eamon Mcauley

Fury knocked out American Maurice Byarm[/caption]

But before doing so, the future two-time heavyweight world champion travelled to Philadelphia in 2007 for the Harrowgate Boxing Club.

Fury competed for Belfast’s Holy Family ABC and boxed in front of just a handful of spectators at the New Alhambra Sports and Entertainment Centre.

Those in attendance would not have known they were watching a future star of the sport – but Fury’s KO of Maurice Byarm might have been a hint.

Fury – only 19 at the time -had the American hurt on the ropes with an uppercut and the follow up right hand ended the bout in the third and final round.

Byarm himself turned pro in 2009 – two years after the loss to Fury but he failed to make an impact in the paid ranks.

He was beaten by Bryant Jennings in 2012 and stopped by Magomed Abdusalamov the same year before leaving the sport.

Byarm did return six years later in 2018 to beat Richard Carmack in his comeback fight but it marked his final fight.

Fury meanwhile first became champ in 2015 when he stunned Wladimir Klitschko in Germany to win the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.

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But by 2017, he vacated the straps amid a battle with depression and substance abuse.

But it paved the way for one of boxing’s most remarkable comebacks as Fury returned in 2018 to challenge for the WBC title – controversially drawing to Deontay Wilder.

Fury later beat Wilder twice to claim the belt but he eventually lost the gold and his unbeaten record in May to Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk, 38, also won the rematch in December and a month later Fury, 36, announced his retirement from boxing and has so far kept his word.

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