Back in the summer of 2016, when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was still in charge of QPR, a few months before Ian Holloway took over, the Championship side were looking for a forward, one seemingly capable of playing either on the wing or through the middle.
With a limited budget at their disposal, there was only so many options for the Dutch manager to consider, and one of them was then Le Havre’s Joseph Mendes, now at Reading under Jaap Stam.
The former Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Bulgarian side) forward had returned to France two years prior, and enjoyed a good run of games with the Ligue 2 side.
Speaking to Onze Mondial, the 26-year-old explained how his move to Reading came about.
He said: “At Le Havre, I had a very good second season, where I played on the wing. I scored nine goals, and after that, a few clubs like QPR and Reading, among others, wanted me. I chose the latter. I was happy the club accepted because when I signed with Le Havre, I was really thinking about England.”
He even told his teammates back then that he was ready to give everything to play in the Premier League at some point, even if meant doing so at 28.
To be fair to him, he came extremely close last year to realising his dream when Reading made it to the playoff final, only to lose to Brighton on penalties.
Considering QPR came 18th, it seems like he made the right choice.
However, this season has been a nightmare for Mendes, who injured his knee right at the beginning of the season, and has yet to return.
Down their end, that summer, QPR ended up signing Idrissa Sylla.
