The Championship side have approached Aston Villa for permission to speak to Steven Gerrard's assistant Michael Beale over the vacancy in west London.
Beale, a highly-rated coach with experience of football in Scotland and Brazil as well as Liverpool and Chelsea, has harboured ambitions of working as a boss on his own in the future but has been an integral part of Steven Gerrard’s regime at both Rangers and Aston Villa.
Gerrard called Beale a training-ground "expert” and admitted he would need almost two decades to get close to the 41-year-old’s on-pitch coaching abilities.
QPR are seeking a replacement for Warburton, another former Ibrox employee, after a string of defeats ended their play-off hopes ahead of his departure.
Gareth Ainsworth, Karl Robinson and Hibs-linked duo Michael Appleton and Jon Dahl Tomasson are also names being linked.
