Bright-est of talents departs Bloomfield Road

The 19-year-old winger, who has been one of the Seasiders’ shining lights in the opening month of the season, has gone to Loftus Road for an undisclosed fee, following Peter Hartley’s loan move to Motherwell.

His departure was officially confirmed on Friday evening, 24 hours after he was given permission to discuss terms with the Sky Bet Championship club.

Osayi-Samuel, who made his debut for the club in March 2015, leaves after making 79 appearances and scoring five goals.

Pictures on social media had made it appear a move was likely on Thursday, only for it to be delayed past the 11pm cut-off point.

The wait was finally over once QPR had confirmation from the EFL that the required documentation was delivered on time.

It took them until Friday evening to confirm they were satisfied that all the necessary paperwork was received in accordance with the conditions of the transfer deadline, leaving the Seasiders awaiting the final clearance of Osayi-Samuel’s registration.

They had rebuffed earlier approaches from Rangers for the winger, whose family home is in London, during the week.

The timing is unlikely to go down well with Bowyer unable to add to his squad until January unless a suitable free agent is available.