For the first time in Jay Stansfield's Birmingham City career, there is talk of Premier League interest in the forward's services. Stansfield has been more used to price tag jibes than genuine praise since he swapped Fulham's fringes for the Second City in the summer of 2024 – signing a seven-year contract with Blues after they smashed their transfer record.
Blues were intent on bringing Stansfield back after he excelled on loan, and relegation to League One didn't stop them. Chairman Tom Wagner told then Director of Football Craig Gardner to find a number that Fulham were happy with, and he did. Wagner had promised staff that Stansfield would return and he pushed the boat out to make good on that promise.
Irrespective of whether anyone thought Stansfield was worth £15 million at the time, it was a statement signing and one the club's owners, Knighthead, were happy to make. Now, two years on and 34 goals later, Blues' board will be reading stories of interest in their talisman. Everton, Sunderland, Ipswich Town and Hull City have been credited with an interest in Stansfield.
Three of those suitors were around when Blues signed Stansfield in the first place. All bar Everton wanted him in the summer of 2023 when he joined Blues on loan, Ipswich pushed hard the following January, and Hull coveted him before that record-breaking deal two summers ago. It would be a shock if their interest amounted to anything tangible because Blues would want an almighty fee for Stansfield, whose contract doesn't end until 2031.
Insiders view Stansfield as a Premier League striker in waiting but, crucially, they have always viewed him as the man to lead Blues to the top-flight. After starting last season on fire, with nine goals in his opening 17 matches, Stansfield only scored twice in his final 30 matches. In his defence, his position was tweaked to accommodate others, and players were chopped and changed around him. Stansfield's 10 goals and seven assists tally still put him among the Championship's most productive forwards.
Blues manager Chris Davies launched quite a staunch defence of Stansfield in April, saying: "This attention that he gets baffles me. There's a lot more players that have cost a lot more money and everything else and everyone seems to focus on Jay. I don't quite understand it to be perfectly honest. He's joined us in League One, and he's a young English player making his way, still with lots to improve and learn, but I trust him a lot because of his honesty and application."
That doesn't sound like a manager talking about a player who he would be willing to sell. Stansfield has never given any indication that he would rather be anywhere else either. The 23-year-old is part of the furniture at the club's training ground and has settled in the area with his young family. You can't control outside noise, but you can, as Stansfield has done in the past, block it out.
