Žan Celar hasn’t had a good run since swapping FC Lugano for QPR in July 2024.
The striker scored two goals in 1,210 minutes from 22 matches in his debut season at QPR.
Last summer, the Championship club allowed the 26-year-old to go out on a season-long loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Thursday’s edition of Rheinische Post explains there was excitement with Celar’s arrival in August 2025, but he ‘never lived up to expectations’.
When compared to last season, the QPR owned player’s situation has gone from bad to worse. He’s played 330 minutes from 13 matches and has failed to score or contribute an assist this season.
Last month, Sport Witness covered claims from Germany of Fortuna Düsseldorf contacting Julien Stéphan’s side to cut short his loan in the winter market. However, QPR rejected their request, with the hope of improving his valuation in the second half of the season.
Why QPR decision may have backfired
The London club’s decision to not accept the second division club’s request hasn’t worked out well.
To put that in context, the Slovenia international played 15 minutes from three matches in this calendar year.
Rheinische Post claim the QPR man is ‘definitely out of the picture’.
Fortuna Düsseldorf started the season with Daniel Thioune as their manager and replaced him with Markus Anfang in October.
Celar made three starts so far and all were under Thioune, in the first three matches of this season.
Since Anfang took over, he’s played 134 minutes from nine matches of which 25 minutes are since December.
Why Celar can’t get minutes
The Slovenian isn’t getting regular minutes because Cedric Itten is first choice for Anfang. He’s delivered 10 goals and two assists, making it difficult for Celar to start matches.
In addition to this, the QPR striker has hardly shown anything when given a few minutes.
The newspaper state: ‘Celar has had little effect under Anfang’s management, which is why he is now completely sidelined or, if he plays at all, is only brought on for the final few minutes.’
The player will return to QPR after this season and will need to sort out his future in the summer.
