Some Blues fans may have questioned whether the 21-year-old would be ready for the step up after spending last season at Exeter City on loan.
Stansfield had a special connection with the Grecians and their supporters because of his late father – and registered nine goals and seven assists in 36 league appearances during his time at St James’ Park.
His goals and assists record combined is fairly impressive – but he may not have been expected to be a real asset at St Andrew’s straight away considering he didn’t score that many goals for Exeter.
However, he has established himself as one of the most talented strikers in the Championship this term, scoring nine goals in 28 competitive appearances for Birmingham with eight of these coming in the league.
If the 21-year-old can stay fit from now until the end of the season, he will easily get into double figures and if he does, that will fully justify why Blues recruited him during the summer.
He was certainly one of their best signings of the previous window – and they did well to fend off interest from elsewhere.
| Birmingham City – 2023/24 Signings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | Signed From | Loan/Permanent |
| Dion Sanderson | Wolves | Permanent |
| Lee Buchanan | Werder Bremen | Permanent |
| Ethan Laird | Man United | Permanent |
| Krystian Bielik | Derby County | Permanent |
| Tyler Roberts | Leeds United | Permanent |
| Koji Miyoshi | Royal Antwerp | Permanent |
| Keshi Anderson | Blackpool | Permanent |
| Cody Drameh | Leeds United | Loan |
| Emanuel Aiwu | Cremonese | Loan |
| Oli Burke | Werder Bremen | Loan |
| Jay Stansfield | Fulham | Loan |
| Siriki Dembele | AFC Bournemouth | Permanent |
Ipswich Town will be upset about Jay Stansfield development
Ipswich Town were one team linked with a move for him and according to Football Insider, they even made an approach for the striker.
However, with a move failing to materialise, they are still on the prowl for a striker and desperately need one with George Hirst out injured and Freddie Ladapo sealing a loan exit.
They do have some attacking assets who can contribute going forward, with Marcus Harness proving his worth against Birmingham earlier in the season, Conor Chaplin making the step up well along with Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead.
Omari Hutchinson, meanwhile, has proved to be an asset and January signing Jeremy Sarmiento should also help their cause. With this in mind, it could be argued that they don’t need another striker, especially with Kayden Jackson available as a central striker.
However, a striker signing could be the difference at the end of the season considering the calibre of teams that are chasing them for a top-two place.
Stansfield has already proved his worth at this level, so it’s a shame for them that they have missed out on him.
Jay Stansfield could have saved Michael Beale at Sunderland
Mick Beale is struggling at Sunderland at the moment – but a new striker could help him to turn things around.
The striker department has been an issue for some time now, with Ross Stewart out for much of last season and Ellis Simms being recalled by Everton last year.
The Wearside outfit did recruit Mason Burstow, Luis Hemir, Eliezer Mayenda and Nazariy Rusyn – but all four have failed to make too much of an impact – with the club reliant on Jack Clarke to produce the goods at times.
Stansfield could have helped to solve their woes up top and potentially save an under-pressure Beale – but that won’t be happening during this window.
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