Hughes in talks with Chelsea´s Alex

QPR boss Mark Hughes said he has held talks with Chelsea’s Brazilian defender Alex.

Speaking after watching his side defeat MK Dons to set up an FA Cup fourth round tie with Chelsea, Hughes also said he was close to finalising a deal for Sao Paulo starlet Henrique.

Danny Gabbidon’s late headed goal was enough for the hosts to win the FA Cup third round replay at Loftus Road and Hughes is looking to add some new faces to his squad as soon as possible.

“Things are ongoing, I’ve been busy this evening obviously,” he said.

“But the hope is that we can get number of the deals done. Ideally that would be sooner rather than later but I can’t tell you if that’s going to happen anytime soon.”

“I think talks (with Alex) are ongoing. I spoke to the boy yesterday and went through what we’re trying to do here and my feelings towards him as a player.”

“I have a huge regard for what he could do for us here. Things have to fall into place before you can get the player over the line.”

“Until I get an update, that’s as much as I know.”

“We’ll digest what’s gone on today and look back at the game in more detail and what we need to improve on, then decisions will be made.”

“It’s early days and the players are still trying to impress so that will continue for a number of weeks, I’m sure.”

“(The Henrique transfer) seems to be progressing, we’re hoping to conclude that. He’s the type of player it would be good to attract to the club if we can.”

“Those are the type that can sustain you in the future so if we do those deals I think that will help us.”

Henrique said he was ready and willing to move to Loftus Road.

“I know a lot of clubs are interested in me. But when I spoke to Mark Hughes and QPR, they made me feel very excited about their plans,” Henrique told The Sun.

“I want to go to a club with ambition and to play in London would be a fantastic opportunity.”

“The manager is known everywhere. He played for great clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona.”

“As a striker, I know I can learn so much from him. I’ve always wanted to play in Europe and, for me, England has the most exciting league in the world.”

Meanwhile, QPR were on the back foot for much of the match against MK Dons and could easily have gone out but were rescued that fate after Gabbidon’s late header sent them through.

“The players are still learning in terms of what I want from them and vice versa so it’s still very, very early days but I’m encouraged by the fact that they’re trying to make things happen,” Hughes said.

“They’ve got a great attitude. They stuck at it – if they’ve given me everything that they’ve got – which they certainly did tonight – then I’ve got no complaints.”

“Obviously in terms of what we actually produced and the quality we need to play consistently well – that wasn’t evident tonight, but certainly on Sunday I thought we put a good shift in, and on the strength of that performance and the result today they will be more confident at the weekend.”

“And I think that is the big issue for us at the moment, the lack of confidence which is understandable given the run the team’s been on.”