The former Livingston forward was mysteriously left out of the QPR squad for the weekend 1-1 draw against Plymouth Argyle, with head coach Marti Cifuentes admitting he was not sure if the player would remain at Loftus Road beyond the transfer window. “I just pick players based on availability. He wasn’t available” Cifuentes told reporters, as rumours EFL Championship outfit Millwall were looking into a potential transfer.

However, it has now emerged that big spending EFL League One side Birmingham City are the club closest to completing a transfer to the player, with the St. Andrews outfit having a £1million accepted by the club and Dykes already on his way to Birmingham for a medical, according to Adam Leventhal of The Athletic.

Dykes is said to be close to agreeing a three-year contract with Chris Davies’ side in a move that will take the Blues transfer spend to over £10million, as they look to bounce back from relegation to the third tier immediately. The switch will end to his four-year stay in London, where he has scored 37 goals in 165 appearances since a £2million move from Livingston in 2020. He will also link up with former Hearts left-back Alex Cochrane and Scotland under-21 international Marc Leonard, who moved to the Midlands earlier in the summer.

Dykes, who has scored nine goals in 36 Scotland caps, was a huge miss for Scotland as Steve Clarke’s side struggled to score goals at this summer’s European Championships following his ankle injury. However, Dykes’ Scotland return was confirmed this morning after the Tartan Army boss included him in the squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Poland and Portugal.