Although Jay Stansfield has been an asset to Birmingham City, he may transfer to the Championship in January.
Managers in the Championship should take advantage of this excellent opportunity to evaluate where their squads stand right now in preparation for the 31-day window that opens in January.
As we formally begin the second phase of the second tier campaign, Birmingham City and Suffolk Town will have different goals in mind, despite the fact that both teams had great starts to the season.Under Wayne Rooney’s leadership, Kieran McKenna’s team is currently five points off the top two, while Birmingham has regressed and may be living in constant fear if their performance continues to follow the same erratic pattern.
Birmingham City’s bright spark
Even though Birmingham has been struggling to adjust to Rooney’s style of play for more than two months, Jay Stansfield, the former Derby County manager, has shown signs of a bright future throughout his loan stint at St Andrew’s.
| 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 |
In his 21 Blues appearances since making the temporary switch from Fulham during John Eustace’s last transfer window in charge, the former Exeter City loanee has contributed nine goals.
Of those, seven have experienced his own strikes, though throughout the early stages of the campaign, they have frequently occurred in spurts. Stansfield scored two goals in each of the following three games after making his scoring debut on August 26 against Plymouth Argyle. He wouldn’t score again until October 28, when he scored two goals in a row against the aforementioned Tractor Boys and Southampton.
His first goal since then came in the 3-3 draw at Home Park on Saturday. He followed it up with a consolation goal in Wednesday’s 3-1 home loss to Stoke, which was largely due to the effort of fellow prospect Romelle Donovan on the right side.
Ipswich Town to potentially benefit from Jay Stansfield
As was previously mentioned, Kieran McKenna’s team will be acutely aware of the threats Stansfield may provide after he scored the first goal in their November 4th 2-2 draw, in addition to the fact that he more than suits the bill in terms of philosophy.
Returning to the Town League In terms of assembling a team, the Northern Irishman once declared his desire for a “balance of different types and different ages, but primarily I want the squad built around a young, hungry, technical and athletic group of players who have a real passion to play for this football club.” In March 2022, he stated as much in the East Anglian Daily Times. “That will be the base.”
Following their return to the Championship, Town has more than demonstrated those attributes. McKenna’s all-action style has seen the East Anglian team reach the net 48 times, which is the joint-highest number in the division. An assortment of attackers are at the heart of these statistics.
| Ipswich Town forwards vs Jay Stansfield Stats 23/24 | Goals | Minutes per Goal | Conversion rate (%) | Shot accuracy (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conor Chaplin | 8 | 244 | 15% | 46% |
| Nathan Broadhead | 8 | 171 | 24% | 41% |
| George Hirst | 6 | 280 | 16% | 57% |
| Freddie Ladapo | 4 | 140 | 21% | 63% |
| Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City) | 7 | 235 | 24% | 55% |
| All stats as per BBC Sport (Correct as of December 27th 2023) | ||||
Many targets become available because Ipswich are rumored to have a £3 million transfer budget for a striker in the next window. This is especially true since Tottenham Hotspur has recalled Dane Scarlett, an England youth international, after the player failed to score in 12 outings.
Stansfield will undoubtedly be excited about the chance to add a Championship promotion to his resume, but given the terms of Scarlett’s loan agreement, he shouldn’t commit to the idea of moving to Portman Road just yet. Instead, he should stay at Birmingham, a team known for nurturing young talent, as they may end up being more advantageous in the long run despite their lowly league position.
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