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Queens Park Rangers have released six players, including defender Leon Balogun and midfielder Luke Amos.

Former Tottenham youngster Amos, 26, joined permanently in the summer of 2020 after a season on loan, and made a total of 95 appearances in a time hampered by knee problems.

Nigeria defender Balogun, 34, played 16 times after joining last summer.

Forward Chris Willock is contracted for another season after the club activated an option to extend his contract.

Options to extend the contracts of Joe Gubbins and Charlie Kelman by 12 months have also been taken up.

Meanwhile Taylor Richards' loan from Brighton and Hove Albion has become a permanent deal after the club secured Championship survival.

The R's remain in talks over a new contracts with Jordan Archer, Chris Martin, Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Aaron Drewe and Stephen Duke-McKenna, while Olamide Shodipo, Conor Masterson, Charlie Owens and Ody Alfa will all leave this summer.

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Former England striker Les Ferdinand has stepped down as Queens Park Rangers' director of football.

The 56-year-old, who played for the club for eight years, took charge of their football operations during the 2014-15 Premier League season, which ended in relegation.

QPR have remained in the Championship since then and struggled last season, narrowly avoiding relegation.

"This has not been an easy decision," Ferdinand told the club website.

"My life is football, I love football and I want to stay in football but I do feel this is the right time for me to step down from my position here.

"Everyone knows how special Queens Park Rangers is to me and it has been a privilege to be back at the club.

"There have been challenging times and I have had to make some very difficult decisions but every decision I have made has been with the best interests of the club at heart."

After a strong start to last season that saw them top the table in October, QPR endured a poor run of results.

Michael Beale left west London for Glasgow, taking over at Rangers in November after just 21 matches as head coach.

His successor Neil Critchley was sacked in February after only 12 games in charge and was replaced by Gareth Ainsworth.

QPR chairman Amit Bhatia said: "I wish to thank Les for his guidance, leadership, determination and friendship over the years.

"This club means so much to him and I have seen that first hand.

"In an industry where individuals with genuine authenticity and integrity appear to be scarce, Les' sincerity and honesty have always set him apart, and have made him so special and so valued by the board.

"QPR is Les' club and he will always be welcome back with open arms at Loftus Road."

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Club captain Stefan Johansen has departed Queens Park Rangers after the midfielder's contract was terminated by mutual consent.

The 32-year-old Norway international scored two goals in 30 appearances for the Championship club last season.

"There is no bad blood at all, I have had conversations with the club and I think it's time to move on," he told the QPR website.

"It suits all parties that I am leaving now. I have had a great time."

Johansen joined the R's on loan from Fulham in January 2021, and made a permanent move to Loftus Road that summer.

In total the former Celtic man scored seven goals in 88 outings for the west London outfit.

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Goalkeeper Jordan Archer and full-back Aaron Drewe have signed new one-year contracts with Championship club Queens Park Rangers.

Scotland international Archer, 30, has played three games for the R's since joining from Middlesbrough in 2021.

Drewe, a 22-year-old academy product, has featured nine times since making his first-team debut in January 2022.

Midfielder Elijah Dixon-Bonner, 22, also signed a new one-year deal at Loftus Road earlier this week.

The former Liverpool trainee has only played once for the west London club, appearing as a late substitute in the 1-0 home defeat by Birmingham in March.

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Scotland international Lyndon Dykes has extended his contract with Championship club Queens Park Rangers until the summer of 2026.

The 27-year-old striker has scored 29 goals in 120 appearances since joining the R's from Livingston in August 2020.

"He's been a fantastic servant for the club and he's only going to get better," Hoops boss Gareth Ainsworth told the club website.

"I'm sure he can lead the line really well for us this year."

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Queens Park Rangers have re-signed forward Paul Smyth after the Northern Ireland international turned down a new deal at League One club Leyton Orient.

The 25-year-old scored 10 goals in 42 appearances last season as the O's won the League Two title.

Smyth, who was previously on the books at Loftus Road between 2017 and 2021, has agreed a three-year contract.

He previously played under R's boss Gareth Ainsworth during a loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers in 2019-20.

Smyth, who also had loan stints at Accrington Stanley and Charlton Athletic after joining the Hoops from Linfield, scored two goals in 23 outings during his first spell in west London.

He made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 2018 and has won three caps, with his sole goal coming on his debut in a 2-1 win over South Korea.

"Paul was one of the outstanding talents in League Two last season," Ainsworth told the club website.

"He was a big reason why Orient won the league and why they were so potent going forward. When he left Wycombe there was still development work to do and now I believe he's getting close to the finished article.

"We are going to see the best of Paul Smyth - maybe three or four years ago it was just a little early to make his mark in this division but I am sure he is going to do that now."

Smyth is QPR's second signing of the summer after Taylor Richards joined on a permanent deal following a loan spell from Brighton.

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Queens Park Rangers' Niko Hamalainen has left the club after cancelling his contract by mutual consent.

The Finland defender, 26, moved to Rangers in 2015 and played 33 times.

He had loan spells at MLS sides LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC, Scottish club Kilmarnock and Dagenham and Redbridge when they were in League Two.

"We wish Niko all the best in his career going forward. Hopefully he will go on to good things," Rangers manager Gareth Ainsworth told the club website.

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Queens Park Rangers have signed defender Ziyad Larkeche after he was released by Premier League side Fulham.

The 20-year-old France Under-20 left-back spent last season on loan with League One club Barnsley, scoring one goal in 23 appearances.

Larkeche, who did not feature for the first team during his time at Fulham, has agreed a three-year deal at QPR.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, Ziyad is a player that excites me," boss Gareth Ainsworth told the club website.

"He can play left wing-back, left-back and, if needed, left centre-back. He's going to bring healthy competition and it's definitely an area that we have made a priority to fill."

He becomes QPR's third signing of the summer after Taylor Richards joined permanently from Brighton following a loan spell and forward Paul Smyth re-joined the west London club after turning down a new deal at Leyton Orient.

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Queens Park Rangers co-owner Tony Fernandes has left the Championship club after 12 years' involvement.

Fernandes bought the west London club in 2011 alongside Ruben Gnanalingam and Kamarudin Meranun, and stepped down as co-chairman in 2018.

The Malaysian businessman, who founded airline AirAsia, no longer holds any shares in QPR Holdings Limited, a club statement said.

"This decision to step away is made with a heavy heart," Fernandes said.

"I would like to thank the supporters who I have experienced the last decade of adventures with. I will continue to look out for QPR's results and wish the board nothing but success for the future."

Majority shareholder Gnanalingam added: "This is a sad day for the club, and for me in particular because Tony and I joined the club together.

"There have been some incredible moments during that period, particularly our survival in the Premier League in 2012 and our play-off success in 2014.

"Of course, there have been challenges too but Tony's good intentions for the club can never be doubted."

QPR finished 20th in the Championship last season and have only finished in the top 10 in the table once since being relegated from the Premier League in 2015.

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Queens Park Rangers have signed goalkeeper Asmir Begovic following his release by Premier League club Everton.

The 36-year-old, who made 10 appearances over the course of a two-year spell with the Toffees, has agreed a one-year contract with the R's.

Begovic has won 63 caps for Bosnia-Herzegovina and has previously played for Stoke, Chelsea and Bournemouth.

QPR had been looking for a new keeper after Seny Dieng joined fellow Championship side Middlesbrough.

"This is a huge signing for QPR and for me personally," boss Gareth Ainsworth told the club website.

"Asmir is going to add so much. People I talk to in the game cannot recommend his professionalism and the leadership he'll bring highly enough.

"He is coming in as our number one."

Begovic becomes QPR's fourth signing of the summer following the additions of Taylor Richards, Paul Smyth and Ziyad Larkeche.