The Wolverhampton-born centre-back has been training with Bruno Lage’s first-team since the start of the month, but he now sets off for his fourth loan in the EFL following previous productive stints at Birmingham City, Sunderland and Cardiff City to continue his development.
During the first half of the season, the 22-year-old – who has been on the club’s books since the age of eight – impressed at St Andrews, making 16 appearances on loan at the Blues, helping them to seven clean sheets and producing consistent performances on the right side of a back three.
At the start of the year, Sanderson returned to Compton Park to bolster the first-team squad while Romain Saiss was away at the Africa Cup of Nations, but with the Morocco captain due to return in the next fortnight, he has the opportunity to earn further senior experience with a club currently fighting for promotion from the Championship.
Matt Jackson, Wolves’ strategic player marketing manager, said the move to Loftus Road will be a good contrast to what Sanderson has experienced earlier this season while at Birmingham.
“QPR have been in excellent form so far this season and are riding high near the top of the Championship,” Jackson said. “For Dion to experience the expectations and pressure which face players in a team that is pushing for promotion will be a real advantage for him and his development.
“I’ve known their manager Mark Warburton for a long time. I know him well from my time as a player at Watford and I know the culture he likes to put into his teams, so I believe Dion will really benefit from his input in terms of playing style.
“However, it’s going to be a very tough few months for him as they’ve already got a solid defensive unit. But this will be a good challenge for Dion, as he will need to be really competitive and consistently show what kind of player he is if he wants to break into their team.”
Sanderson will join up with his new teammates ahead of QPR’s Championship fixture at home to Reading on Saturday.
