The 2011–12 season marked Taarabt's first real foray into the Premier League, for although having been featured in English football's highest tier as a Tottenham player, he had never made a breakthrough into the Spurs' starting XI. The start of the season held much optimism for both QPR and Taarabt, yet this soon gave way to speculation that he would move away, and his name was associated with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli. This was coupled with the arrival of Joey Barton in the August transfer window, who was immediately installed as captain, taking the role from Taarabt.