Wycombe switch training base to west London

Wycombe Wanderers have been as high as the Championship since joining the English Football League in 1993

Wycombe Wanderers are to switch their training base to Harlington in west London, a site previously used by Chelsea and Queen's Park Rangers.

Earlier this year, the club were in talks to acquire Reading's Bearwood Park training ground, but ultimately they came to nothing.

The Chairboys say the Harlington site, owned by Imperial College London, will be used by the first team but will also enable "the development of a new academy".

“Our vision for the sustainable growth and success of the club are underpinned by the need for Wycombe Wanderers to have access to first-class training facilities," said chief football officer and interim chairman Dan Rice.

"Harlington is an excellent venue for us to develop our plans for establishing our first team at a higher level, and for creating an academy at the highest possible standard.

"We have undergone a thorough process to identify and secure the right facility for us and Harlington - with convenient transport links and located close to both Wycombe and London - suits our requirements."

The site, near Heathrow airport, has 18 full-size grass pitches and an astroturf one, as well as a gymnasium, canteen, changing rooms, and meeting and video analysis rooms.

Board member Eduard Vyshnyakov said the club's former Marlow Road training ground would now be considered as "an alternative training site, alongside other possible opportunities".

Wycombe finished 10th in League One last season, 11 points adrift of the play-off places.

Since then the club have been taken over by Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze's Blue Ocean Partners Ltd, who bought a 90% stake from former owner Rob Couhig.