players not given a squad number by then manager Juande Ramos, and also banned from the first-team training ground. He was given his old number when Harry Redknapp took over team management, but his only Premier League appearance that season came in a goalless North London derby on 8 February 2009, playing three minutes in place of Aaron Lennon. Queens Park Rangers On 13 March 2009, Taarabt joined Championship club Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season. He scored his first goal for QPR in a 2–1 win over Bristol City. His loan spell was cut short after he suffered a knee injury which required surgery. On 23 July 2009, Taarabt rejoined QPR on a season-long loan for the 2009–10 season. On 1 October, Taarabt scored a "wonder strike" in a match against Preston North End. He collected the ball on his chest inside the QPR half, dribbled 20 yards past three players and curled in a shot from 25 yards. Tottenham confirmed in October 2009 that Taarabt could stay at QPR for the season providing that a Premier League club did not make a bid for him in the January transfer window. QPR were unable to make the transfer permanent because they could not afford the £4.5 million valuation placed on Taarabt by Spurs. In March 2010, Taarabt was quoted in an interview as being sorry he had signed for Tottenham, saying, "The big mistake was to sign for Tottenham and not go to another club when I first came over." He stated he wished he had signed for Arsenal instead but had opted for Spurs after Damien Comolli moved from being a scout at Arsenal to director of football at Spurs. He said he felt he would have been given more chances to play at Arsenal and was advised at the time not to sign for Spurs by his friends Armand Traoré and Abou Diaby, who played for Arsenal. Taarabt went on to state his intention to sign for one of the top clubs in Spain: "I hope to be playing for one of the top four in Spain next season – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Sevilla. I have contact with good teams and I know that they want me. Now I just have to hope they can agree a deal with Tottenham." On 5 August 2010, Taarabt signed a three-year contract