Defender Dunne signs new QPR contract

Jimmy Dunne won both the fans' and players' player of the year awards at QPR last season

QPR defender Jimmy Dunne has signed a new contract with the Championship club.

Dunne was voted player of the season by both the club's fans and players as the Rs finished 15th in the table.

The 27-year-old has made 163 appearance since joining the club from Burnley in 2021, scoring 11 goals.

Dunne was set to be out of contract this summer and had been linked with a move to Sheffield United in January, but QPR said they remained "in discussions" with him over a new deal last month.

"This feels like home - it's my club, so I'm really happy to still be here," he told the club's website.

Dunne missed just one league match and scored five goals in a campaign in which he earned his first international cap for Republic of Ireland.

Jimmy Dunne made his first appearance for the Republic of Ireland national team last season, against Bulgaria in the Uefa Nations League play-offs

"I've got an emotional attachment to this club, which is obviously super rare in football these days," he said.

"My butcher's a QPR fan, my postman's a QPR fan. I see them all the time, so I feel the emotion of the people when I'm around Chiswick or wherever I see them.

"I think that's another reason why I've grown so attached and I think I really care. So much has changed since I've been here. So many managers, so many players, but I've seen how much the fans have cared about us at our lowest points."

The club did not state the length of the new deal.

Dunne moved to Loftus Road four years ago when Mark Warburton was in charge and has since played under Michael Beale, Neil Critchley and Gareth Ainsworth.

Current boss Marti Cifuentes was placed on gardening leave following the Hoops' 5-0 home defeat by Burnley in their penultimate game of the season.