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Transfer news: Mauricio Isla rubbishes Queens Park Rangers exit rumours

Mauricio Isla
Image: Mauricio Isla: Starting to find his feet at Loftus Road

Mauricio Isla has rubbished reports suggesting that he is looking for a way out of a Queens Park Rangers and an early return to Italy.

The Chile international moved to Loftus Road over the summer on a season-long loan from Juventus.

He, along with many of his team-mates, initially struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, with results and performances falling below the expected standard.

That sparked rumours that Isla may look to head back to Serie A in January but the 26-year-old put in a strong showing in Monday’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa and claims he is fully committed to the deal he agreed with QPR.

He said in the Evening Standard on speculation he is exploring Italian options: “That was never going to happen.

“People talk but I’ve never spoken about it. I’ve not spoken to a single director at Juventus since I came to England, not even to the coach there, Massimiliano Allegri.

“It is important for me to stay here a long while because I need to get match fitness back after the cruciate knee ligament injury I had [while playing for Udinese in 2012]. After playing so many games for Udinese, it was a bit of a sad situation at Juventus.

Because of the injury and other reasons, I didn’t play all that much for Juve. On the other hand, I’m playing regularly here, so I’m really happy about it.
Mauricio Isla

“Because of the injury and other reasons, I didn’t play all that much for Juve. On the other hand, I’m playing regularly here, so I’m really happy about it.”

Regular game time is helping Isla to find his feet and allowing him to adapt his game to the demands of Harry Redknapp, with the QPR boss deploying him as a right-back against Villa – as opposed to a wing-back in a 3-5-2 system.

He added: “It’s a long time since I played in a four-man defence.

“It’s not something I did very often in the past. But you need to learn fast. English football is one of the best in the world, so I’ll train hard to learn the right-back role because that is what I’m here to do. It’s a while since I played on the flank with (Eduardo) Vargas, too.

“In the national team, I play on the right with (Arsenal forward) Alexis Sanchez but Vargas and I can work well together.”

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