QPR’s summer recruitment for 2026 begins with the addition of Dutch left back Boy Kemper on a free transfer from NAC Breda in the Netherlands.

Facts

Boy Kemper is a 26-year-old (27 tomorrow), 6ft 1ins left sided defender from Plumerand in the west of the Netherlands.

He played his initial youth football with FC Volendam (recently relegated from the Eredivisie) before being picked up by giants Ajax for 2016/17 when he was just 17 years old. He made his debut in the second tier of Dutch football for Ajax Jong (effectively Ajax B) a year later against SC Cambuur. He picked up four caps for the Netherlands at U18 level and another six for their U19s during this time.

Ahead of the 2020/21 season he was signed by top flight side Den Haag where he made 24 starts and two sub appearances, scoring a first senior goal in a 1-0 away win at RKC Waalwijk (and we’ll hear more from their second album, later in the show). That wasn’t enough to prevent them being relegated to the second tier of Dutch football, however, where Kemper spent the next two seasons of his career eventually racking up 83 appearances and four goals.

In June 2023 he moved to NAC Breda on a three-year contract. In his first season he was captain of a side that went on remarkable run to Eredivisie promotion through the play-offs. Breda finished eighth in the second tier but fought their way through four games in the end of season knockout, beating Roda, FC Emmen, and finally Excelsior Rotterdam over two legs in which a 6-2 victory in the home game was nearly turned into a very-QPR-indeed aggregate loss when they were beaten 4-1 away, eventually squeaking up 7-6 on aggregate.

Back in the top flight he started 28 games with one sub appearance in 2024/25, scoring in a 2-0 away win at Sparta Rotterdam in December. In 2025/26 he played 32 times as captain of the side and scored career-best five goals (with three assists into the bargain) in games against Heracles, Nijmegen, a 2-2 draw with mighty PSV Eindhoven, and two in the final game against Heerenveen (one of them an absolute shitpinger). Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to prevent Breda finishing second bottom (6-11-17) and being relegated.

Kemper was linked with a move to sixth placed Utrecht this summer but QPR have picked him up on a free transfer at the end of his Breda deal and according to Dutch media he has signed a three-year contract at Loftus Road with an option for a fourth.

Good to get this one over the line before he becomes Man Kemper and his resale value goes down.

Analysis Zac Bowles @TheLoftInsights

With the end of Rhys Norrington-Davies’ loan spell leaving QPR with just two left-backs at the club (Ziyad Larkeche and Esquerdinha), the pick-up of 26-year-old NAC Breda captain Boy Kemper on a free transfer appears to be a sensible bit of business. But what can we actually expect from our new Boy?

In possession

When NAC have the ball, Kemper frequently looks to get forward, playing primarily in the middle and final thirds. He often gets into advanced attacking positions, which should suit Stéphan’s tactical preference for inverted wingers. Kemper looks to deliver the ball into the box often, registering 0.7 crosses/90 last season and producing two assists last season from crossing positions.

However, ball delivery is not a particular strength of Kemper’s, as he (somehow) registered a lower cross completion rate than Amadou Mbengue last season (19.1% vs. 20.6%). Kemper produced an unremarkable 0.12 xA/90 (which would rank him 25th among Championship full-backs last season), creating 1.18 chances/90.

On the ball, Kemper is an infrequent dribbler, mainly receiving the ball in space from third man runs; he recorded 0.32 dribbles/90 with a success rate of 43.5% last season. He is also a direct passer, recording 2.39 accurate long balls/90, which again should suit Stéphan’s counter-attacking approach.

An area where Kemper shines is in the final third, as he likes to crash the box, getting into goalscoring areas. Kemper produced some impressive attacking numbers last season, scoring five goals, producing 0.07 NPxG/90 and registering 0.96 shots/90. He also strikes the ball well; Kemper was NAC Breda’s penalty taker last season.

Physicality

Naturally, coming from the Eredivisie to the Championship, there may be questions surrounding Kemper’s ability to adapt to the physical demands of the league. Watching him play, Kemper is strong and, by all accounts, a bit of a shithouse. He won 5.26 duels/90 last season - a similar figure to RND’s 5.58 per 90 - and so there should be little concern in his ability to adapt to the physicality of the English game.

Kemper is also an aerial presence, making him a threat from set-pieces; he scored one headed goal and recorded one headed assist last season, also winning 2.17 aerial duels/90.

Where there should be some concern, however, is Kemper’s ability to adapt to the speed of the Championship. Kemper is quite slow off-the-ball (watch back the speed of his underlap for his second crossing assist, for example) and given the fact he positions himself further up the pitch, this means he can struggle to track back during defensive transitions. This can leave the left-hand side exposed to counter-attacks if possession is lost in the middle third, which is particularly concerning given QPR conceded the second most goals from fast breaks (ten) in the Championship last season.

Out-of-Possession

Finally, looking at Kemper’s out-of-possession performance, he appears reliable, if unremarkable, with a very similar output to Rhys Norringtton-Davies. Kemper recorded 5.58 defensive contributions per 90 (RND: 5.87), including 1.6 tackles (RND: 2.11) and 0.73 interceptions (RND: 0.74) last season. I expect he should perform similarly to RND for QPR, but given his physical limitations, I do expect Kemper to struggle against some of the faster wingers in the division.

Conclusion

Overall, while I honestly don’t believe Kemper will set the world on fire in W12, he is clearly a very pragmatic signing, essentially replacing Norrington-Davies on a free transfer. At 26, Kemper brings experience captaining an Eredivisie side, where he was ever-present last season, playing 2,821 out of a possible 3,060 minutes. Ultimately, if he can adapt to the demands of the Championship, there is no reason he can’t be a reliable solution to our depth problem at left-back.

Reaction

“First of all. New club, new city, new competition - I'm looking forward to start and see all the guys. For me, it's also a big challenge to get the club where they belong - a club like this belongs in the highest level. I’m a hardworking defender, can go up and down, good cross, can give the final pass, assist, and defending, very, very solid. I think there will not be a winger that will say they like to play against me. I think you learn a lot because you have different players from different countries, different ages, so you have to communicate in your own way to be sure that everyone feels good and can be their best on the pitch. I'm vocal on the pitch but next to the pitch, I can be a nice guy to give someone what he needs. When you're on the pitch, I think it's important that you be vocal and show what you want as a team." -Boy Kemper

“We are excited to welcome Boy to QPR. He brings tenacity, physicality, aerial ability, a cultured cross and a venomous strike. As a character, we believe that Boy will fit right into this group that continues to display immense work ethic day-to-day - and that he will help to foster that even further.” -Christian Nourry

Opinion

Boy Kemper is the opening gambit of what I think could be an incredibly interesting summer for Queens Park Rangers. One that will tell us a lot about the ambition of the club and its direction of travel.

QPR have a hell of a lot going for them in 2026/27, probably more so that at any point in the last five years.

Two outstanding teams at this level have gone up to be replaced by three in various states of crises – Burnley don’t have a manager, Wolves did but have already got rid, West Ham’s owner is finally getting what’s long been coming to him. Unlike last year, when Wrexham and Birmingham arrived with American war chests at their disposal, there are no big hitters arriving from League One. The best of the promoted teams, Lincoln City, have already lost their manager to Bristol City. Two big clubs, in Sheff Wed and Leicester, have departed the other way. The division is undoubtedly weaker than it was in 2025/26 and this year, for the first time, finishing eighth is enough to buy a ticket in the end of season lottery. Although the highest QPR have managed in ten years is ninth, when you look at the teams that have finished seventh and eighth of late (Wrexham, Derby; Blackburn, Millwall; Hull, Boro; Blackburn and Millwall again; Boro again, Blackburn again; Reading, Cardiff) it shouldn’t be an insurmountable hurdle. Things have fallen nicely for us here.

In Richard Kone and Rumarn Burrell, Rangers have done the most difficult and expensive bit of their recruitment already. Two strikers, 25 or younger, great physical profile, double figure Championship seasons already recorded, there aren’t many more exciting potential pairings in the division this year than those two. Like some of the club’s other promising recruits (Nicolas Madsen, Harvey Vale, Ronnie Edwards, Amadou Mbengue) they already have a season (or two) at this level under their belts so should now be fully up to speed and ready to hit their straps. Likewise, manager Julien Stéphan who will have learnt a lot from his first year at this level.

Of course, getting them on the pitch in our colours is going to be key. QPR need to start selling players soon and a combination of injury and lousy form has severely dented their chances of getting this summer’s planned cabs (Dembele, Varane) off the rank at any sort of price. Richard Kone will likely attract interest this summer. The club also has to get a grip of the injury situation and make sure its best players are on the field more often than not. Assuming they are genuinely reviewing and tackling that issue, not jamming their fingers in their ears and hiding behind this “90% availability” codswallop, then you’d think we’re in for a better season than last. You’d have to be very unlucky/incredibly incompetent to have a third consecutive season with the quantity and quality of injuries we’ve had in the last couple.

While squad depth will always be an issue on our budget, and we desperately need the development team to convert its nice shiny cup wins into some genuine first team prospects to aid in that, the starting 11 isn’t far off when it’s fit and firing.

The issues with it are obvious. Even among the polarised opinions of the club’s online fanbase there is consensus that we are weak in goal, at full back, and in central midfield. What we do with those positions, what the team looks like come September 1, will tell you a lot about our ambition, and where we see the club going. Surgery has already started on the midfield where Isaac Hayden and Sam Field have departed and the really good news is two of the three positions we need are in plentiful supply and are not expensive. The top three goalkeepers in the Championship and League One last year, per Opta stats, were all on loan. Three of this division’s top four teams last year had a loan goalkeeper. Premier League clubs have hoarded keepers in recent years, good ones are in plentiful supply on the loan market.

If you’re happy finishing 15th in the Championship every year as long as the average age is coming down, the development squad is winning pots and pans, and in theory you’re developing prospects to sell, then Joe Walsh covered by Murphy Cooper, Ziyad Larkeche covered by Esquerdinha, Jonathan Varane turning every attack into a pass back to the goalkeeper, is probably fine. But if Kone and Burrell are here at the start of September, and the fitness situation does improve, then a decent goalkeeper, full back and centre mid could take elevate this team quite considerably. Hull, now heading to the Premier League, were not a great side.

Of course, as ever, there is a financial element to wrap our heads around. There’ll be signings. It’s QPR, of course there’ll be signings. But how many, and in what profile, will be intriguing.

The club has spent big money by its standards over the last two seasons. First on the Celar/Madsen/Varane/Santos intake, then again on Mbengue/Kone/Burrell/Poku a year ago, and again in January on Edwards and the man, myth and legend Justin Obikwu. A good chunk of that has been offset by the sales of Kelman, Dykes, Armstrong and a sell-on for Ebere Eze, but we’ve been talking about that Eze sell-on for a long time and that’s here now.

Christian Nourry was confident at the recent fan sites meeting that the new PSR version of FFP wouldn’t be a problem for us, but a club running at 100%+ wages to turnover is always going to have to wrestle a rule that says you can only lose 85% of what you bring in and the club has already spent the summer making a number of unpleasant decisions – jacking up concessionary season tickets, charging £60 for a collection of distinctly mediocre replica shirt designs, slapping an online casino on the front of those shirts – to try and get more revenue into the building.

Kemper is a signing that speaks to all of this.

He’s a left back, one of the problem positions that was last year covered by a loan, and it is a relief to me that we’re not going to attempt a season with Larkeche covered by Esquerdinha which would have just been asking for trouble. That’s a good start. His stats say he’s a lot better going forwards (five goals and three assists last year) than Rhys Norrington Davies was (one goal, zero assists). He’s a big, aggressive unit which addresses another concern about our team being too small, too weak, too meek while football as a whole heads in completely the opposite direction towards physicality, set pieces, and directness. His reports from Holland suggest he’s one of those Ben Pearson characters who hate until he plays for your team, and that’s a positive for me – captain of his last club, plenty of gob on him. We need an edge. QPR only kept six clean sheets away from home last season and three of those (Swansea, Blackburn, Sheff Utd) were with Sam Field at left back. And we need leadership as what experience we did have bleeds out of the squad in a myopic quest to get our average age to the lowest in the league. A big, confident, aggressive Dutchman on that side of the defence is just what I want right now.

That comes with all the usual caveats about signings from the Eredivisie that we trotted out when Kennth Paal came, and George Cox nearly did – 34 game season not 48, much less physical than the Championship, and he’s already been relegated at that level twice in his career. Kemper played for Breda last year who went down, but his other option this summer was Utrecht who finished sixth. There are red flags in Zac’s analysis above about lack of speed and vulnerability against quick wingers. In a year’s time will we once again be talking about QPR looking to find value in the European market while underestimating the demands of the league they play in themselves? His physical profile doesn’t suggest he’ll be bullied at least, more doing the bullying himself, and as a free transfer the price is right.

It a signing that shows learning about where the team was poor last year, and our lack of physicality in an increasingly aggressive modern game. Now let’s see what they’ve got for us between the sticks, and in the centre of the park.

If you enjoy LoftforWords, please consider supporting the site through a subscription to our Patreon or tip us via our PayPal account loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk.

Pictures - Reuters Connect

Recent Stories